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THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 
OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 
OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



By 
A. S. EDWARDS 

Professor of Psychology 
University of Georgia 




Baltimore 
WARWICK & YORK, Inc. 

1920 






Copyright, 1920 
By WARWICK & YORK, Inc. 



©CU604308 



NOV 22 1920 



TO MY MOTHER 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/fundamentalprincOOedwa 



THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING 
AND STUDY 

Preface 

The present volume is' a rewriting of manuscript which the 
writer has used for some time as part of his lectures to stud- 
ents in educational psychology. The aim is especially to show 
how the results of general psychology and experimental psy- 
chology and of allied sciences can be put into use by the teach- 
er and the student in the problems of learning and of study. 
In the chapters on Making the Appeal to the Student, and At- 
tention and Sustained Effort, examples have been given from 
the writer's own studies and observations for the purpose of 
illustrating psychological principles involved and to suggest to 
teachers ways that have proved successful in the actual every- 
day work of the teacher. 

The writer thinks that The Habit Theory has not received 
its due in educational practice and perhaps not in educational 
thought. It is a principle which runs through the whole work 
of education and the adoption of it as the fundamental work- 
ing principle of the teacher's work should help to bring the 
definiteness that is needed. If habits, including habitudes, 
dispositions and attitudes, are not all the results that education 
can show, we can see what is left out after we do our duty to 
the first and fundamental things. 

The general scheme of the book can be indicated by the fol- 
lowing statement of some of the main thoughts: 1) The nature 
of education and of the educational process from the point of 
view of permanent results in the individual. 2) The necessity 
for permanent results of some kind and the nature of these 
results. 3) The process of learning, of making acquisitions 
which can be made more or less permanent and suggestions 
for the right direction of this learning process. 4) A discus- 
sion of how to make the best progress in learning. 5) The 
getting of not only specific but general improvement. 6) The 
factors that make for permanent results. 7.) Modes of ap- 
peal for the purpose of arousing and directing the desired ac- 
tivities. 8) The development through lower to higher stages 
of attention, activity, and effort. 9) The development of the 
emotional and moral nature for permanent results in moral 
character. 10) Physical and physiological conditions that are 



2 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

involved in learning and study. 11) The problem of how to 
study, teaching to study, and of putting supervised study into 
the school. 12) The need for definite ends of education and 
the possibility of using the principles and facts presented here- 
in to help towards greater definiteness of aim, of procedure 
and of obtaining recognizable and measurable end results so 
that the work of education shall approach in definiteness the 
achievement of other big business enterprises. 

The directions for students appearing in chapter 16 are 
practically unchanged from the early writing nearly three 
years ago. 

References at the ends of chapters indicate books and ar- 
ticles that seem to the author to be most useful to the teacher 
if he wishes to choose from a large number of possible refer- 
ences. Others may be equally good, but a selected bibliog- 
raphy seems to be most valuable. 

It is my pleasure and duty to acknowledge the helpful criti- 
cisms and suggestions of Dean L. D. Coffman, Professor N. 
Wilde, Professor H. H. Woodrow, Professor J. Peterson, and 
Mr. J. R. Kantor, of The University of Minnesota and of Pro- 
fessor H. W. Odum, of The University of Georgia. 

A. S. EDWARDS,. 

The Psychological Laboratory. 

Peabody School of Education. 

University of Georgia. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter 1. 
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION. 

Pages 11-21 
Purpose and point of view of writer. Habit a convenient 
term. Habit but not automatism. Habit fixes but it also re- 
leases. No justification for education which does not make 
permanent results. Education compares in importance with 
heredity. Importance of the habit theory. Habit in various 
fields of thought. Habit at bottom a matter of physics. Ideals 
and standards. Three great principles of education. The 
greatest needs of education. 

Chapter 2. 
NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION. 

Pages 22-36 
The fundamental nature and importance of habit: Quota- 
tion from Dr. Carpenter. The modifications in the individual 
which result in habits make up his education. The work of 
the teacher. Sully on habit. Comprehensiveness of the 
habit theory as shown by Prof. Angell's Psychology. Habit 
is fundamental for the most complete kinds of thinking. Habit 
and originality. Habit and plasticity. Habit and the fixity 
of response. The danger of too much fixity. No necessary 
danger of losing plasticity through education. Flexibility de- 
pends partly on a variety of habits and a habit of choosing 
from among them. Variety of response a peculiarly human 
thing. Education and initiative. The varying strengths of 
habits. Types of habit: habit and habitude. 

Chapter 3. 

THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION. 

Pages 37-50 
Habit is the basis of progress in learning. Progress to high- 
er stages of efficiency. Progress and modifying the old habits. 
Education and the development of permanent desires and in- 

3 



4 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

terests. The advantages of the habit theory: Fundamental 
nature and comprehensiveness of the theory. It gives defin- 
iteness to the work of the teacher. It gives the basis for scien- 
tific treatment and measurement. It reduces all education to 
the same terms. It emphasizes the psychological factors 
necessary to learning. The knowledge of habit formation re- 
veals the manifold nature of the teacher's work. Other aims 
of education are included and defined. Disadvantage of the 
term habit. Judgments, ideas and habits. Ideals, the guiding 
influence of education. Ideals and achievement. The case of 
Dr. Brashear. Ideals as permanent motives in life. The con- 
trolling principle of education. Determination of the curri- 
culum on the basis of activities which result in habits. Kinds 
of habits to be formed. Education as the formation and mod- 
ification of habits under the guidance of ideals and the con- 
trol of standards. 



Chapter 4. 

LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION. 

Pages 51-62 

Life and habit formation. The need for habits. The ef- 
fects of habits. The strong guiding influence of habit. Prin- 
ciples of habit formation : Learning correctly. Accuracy first, 
speed later. Helps to habit formation include: — Strong and 
decided initiative. Continuity of practice. Use of every op- 
portunity. Caring enough and determination. A clear plan. 
The realization of value. Success and the feeling of success; 
mastery and the feeling of master}^. Suggestion. Publishing 
intentions. Penalties. Putting self on honor. Thorough- 
ness. Hindrances to habit formation: Not caring enough. 
Laziness. Lack of incentive. Other habits. Difficulty and 
complexity. Unpleasantness. The pressure of time and other 
things. The tendency to feel without acting. The incom- 
plete learning of other habits. Breaking old habits: Never 
permit the old habit to function. Remove the conditions and 
suggestions for the old habit. Develop a substitute habit. 
Penalties. A new ideal coupled with strong emotion. New 
demands and responsibilities. "Keep the faculty of effort 
alive." The habit of making new habits. 



table of contents o 

Chapter 5. 

ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY. 

Pages 63-75 
The acquisition of knowledge. Association in all kinds of 
learning. Acquisition through the senses: observational 
learning. Factors that determine our perceptions: The object 
itself. The contents of consciousness. Mental habits. Phys- 
iological processes. Attention. Thoroughness. Observation 
with definite expectation ideas. "Apperception." Observa- 
tion for complete analysis. Total impression. Learning by 
trial and error. Imitation. Note-taking. Acquisition by 
reasoning. Selection and organization. Essence of reason- 
ing. The problem for the student. Helps to habits of correct 
thinking. The value of ideas. Age and learning. The value 
of early acquisitions. Jost's law. Some kind of habits are 
formed early. Subjects to be taught at different ages. Other 
conclusions in relation to age and learning. Social factors 
involved. 



Chapter 6. 

WAYS OF THINKING AND PITFALLS FOR THE STUDENT. 

Pages 76-85 
Common tendencies: advantages and disadvantages. Pre- 
disposition, or prejudice. Empathy. Learning by trial and 
error. Imitation. Partial, hasty observation and faulty con- 
clusions. Careful rather than fast work. The tendency to 
get general impressions. Coincidences considered as matter 
of cause and effect. Jumping to conclusions on the basis of 
too few facts. Reasoning by analogy. Reasoning from "what 
ought to be" to supposed facts. The conversion of arguments. 
Originality without preparation. Affirming of the whole what 
is true of the part. Affirming of a part what is true of the 
whole. Reasoning from incorrect premises. Proving one 
thing and assuming another. Appeal to the feelings instead of 
to the intellect. Throwing overboard a conclusion or belief 
because the arguments found for it are bad. Language diffi- 
culties. The great achievement for the student. 



b principles of learning and study 

Chapter 7. 

PROGRESS AND IMPROVABILITY. 

Pages 86-96 
The universality of improvement. Habit and the law of 
short-circuiting. Regularity and persistence. Drill. Use ver- 
sus drill. Definiteness of practice. Lower and higher order 
habits develop together. The order of learning. Correct 
practice. The critical attitude and ability to distinguish the 
correct from the incorrect. Thoughtful practice. Improve- 
ment of methods. Improvement in observational learning. 
Feelings of satisfaction and of dissatisfaction. The feelings 
an unsafe guide. Physiological conditions. The principle of 
completeness of response. Improvement in subnormals. 



Chapter 8. 
ARRESTS IN LEARNING AND THE LIMIT OF 

IMPROVABILITY. 

Pages 97-106 
Are plateaus necessary in human learning? The curve of 
learning. Causes of plateaus: The nature of the learner. De- 
fective training. Growing complexity and critical stages. 
Little experience in higher habits. Improper use of time and 
effort; poor methods. The illusion of progress. Avoiding 
and overcoming plateaus: Observation of principles already 
mentioned. Forcing one's self. The limit of unprovability. 



Chapter 9. 
THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS: GENERAL 

IMPROVEMENT. 

Pages 107-116 
Most improvement is specific. Some transfers may take 
place. Factors that complicate the discussion. The nature 
and amount of transfer. Quotation from Ladd and Wood- 
worth. The conditions of transfer. Quotations from Baqlev, 
Judd and Peorson. Transfers -^nd the choice of subjects. 
Choice f 1 onld also be a choice of teachers. Studies should 
call (■•' ■■']-: ! •* efforts. The value of intensive studv. 



table of contents 7 

Chapter 10. 
MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION. 

Pages 117-131 
The modern conception of memory. Memory as a kind of 
habit. Not memory but many memories. The conditions of 
memory: Better methods of learning. Many associations. 
Vividness, frequency of repetitions, duration, recency and 
primacy. Accumulations of repetitions: Meumann. Jost's 
law. The "warming up" period. Fatigue. The "hardening" 
period. The value of comparatively short periods. Imme- 
diate and permanent retention. Cramming: Memory and 
general intelligence. The rate of learning. Regularity of ap- 
plication. Distribution of practice. 

Chapter 11. 
MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION. 

(Concluded). 

Pages 132-142 
The nature of material. Topical study and topical organiz- 
ation. Light from later chapters. The whole versus the part 
method. The mediating or emphasizing method : a modifica- 
tion of the whole method. Size of units. Order of learning. 
Size of units and the length of assignments. Silent learning 
versus learning aloud. The attitude of the student. Artifi- 
cial systems and devices: Mnemonics. Mnemonic devices. 
Forgetting. The curve of forgetting. Reviews. The value of 
reviews in learning small amounts of material. Permanence 
of acquisition and the kind of learning. 

Chapter 12. 
MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT. 

Pages 143-157 
The release of energy. The teacher's work is to arouse and 
to direct. The means of appeal : the native and acquired dis- 
positions. Case studies of successful appeals : A tactful re- 
rruest. Arousnl of the group spirit. One's own problem. The 
feeling of usefulness. Reing a knight. School money, bank 
books, and ownership. Appeal to pride in one's own posses- 
sions. Winning pupils through tact, play and a friendly atti- 
tude. Army organization, and reward of a holiday. The 
arousal and development of interest. The force of sugges- 



8 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

tion. The law of affective expansion. The law of affective 
transfer. Association and the development of interest. In- 
terest and attitude. Realization of use or value. The feeling 
of need. Interest through special topics. Interest and the as- 
signment of lessons. Utilizing manual activities. Use of the 
dramatic tendency. Sublimation. Action and feeling. Cen- 
tering interest in the pupil's activity. Motivation through the 
activity of the pupil. "A passion for your subject." The de- 
velopment from interest to effort. 

Chapter 13. 
ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT. 

Pages 158-174 
From interest to effort. The need for attention. Kinds or 
stages of attention: primary attention. The conditions of 
primary attention. Vividness or intensity of stimulus. Change 
of stimulus. Novelty. Familiarity. The concrete. The de- 
finite and concrete. Secondary or "voluntary" attention. De- 
rived primary or habitual attention. The conditions of sec- 
ondary and derived attention. The arousal of sustained at- 
tention. The driving power of pain, fear and anger. Appeal 
made through the removal of privileges. Appeal to an habit- 
ual tendency. The passing of secondary into derived primary 
attention. The best attention is had with slight distraction- 
Hindrances to good attention: The feeling of fatigue versus 
fatigue. Exciting emotions. Not knowing what to do or how 
to go ahead. Lack of technique and of instruments. Bad 
suggestions and failure to try. Self government and sustain- 
ed effort. Self government aided by school paper. A teach- 
er's personal interest, trust, and right direction of a boy's ac- 
tivities. Sharing in activities. Pride and interest in one's 
own achievement. Appeal to sympathy and the sense of re- 
sponsibility. A position of responsibility. Improvement 
from within. The direction of attention. Control of action 
through control of attention. The direction of native tenden- 
cies. The value of purpose. Ideals. 

Chapter 14. 
FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION. 

Pages 175-I&3 

The feelings and permanence of acquisition. Feelings and 

action. The feelings dependent upon action. Associations. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 9 

The development of interests. Making interests permanent. 
Other emotional tendencies. Imitation. Moral education. 
Will in moral training. The type of moral habits. Moral ed- 
ucation in our schools. 

Chapter 15. 
PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. 

Pages 184-195 

Dependence of mind on body. Special defects. Food. 

Air. Temperature. Humidity. Atmospheric conditions and 

mental work. Regularity and efficiency. Change of work. 

Fatigue. Sleep. Short naps. Health and social activities. 

Chapter 16. 
THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY. 

Pages 196-210 
Methods of teaching versus methods of study. Results of 
supervised study. Moral value of home study habits. The 
pupil's failure in the application of advice for method of study. 
The teacher's inability to advise. Detailed suggestions to give 
students in connection with improved study. The teacher's 
responsibility. Pupil's study card. Suggestions for the in- 
dividual student. The final result. 

Chapter 17. 
SUPERVISED STUDY AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM. 

Pages 211-22] 
Methods for putting supervised study into the curriculum 
outlined. The use of the regular teacher. Use of a special 
teacher. Both methods valuable. Separate times for instruc- 
tion in study during the school session. Special times ap- 
pointed by the principal. The division of every period, part 
for supervised study. The double period. Study confer- 
ences. Extra study periods. Directing study in the general 
study hall. Essential factors in the administration of study 
supervision. An experiment in supervised study in the 
schools of Athens. General suggestions for study. Special 
suggestions and directions for the study of special subjects: 
How to study reading. How to study history. How to study 
science. How to study mathematics. English composition. 
Manual training and domestic science. Some results of the 
experiment. 



10 principles of learning and study 

Chapter 18. 
DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD. 

Pages 222-23 r 
Quotations from Snedden and Judd. Social Values. The 
binding force of tradition. The case of Latin. The question 
of English. Results of an experiment by Professor Mead. A 
lesson from the French schools: quotation from Professor 
Brown. Other facts in relation to English. Some conclu- 
sions. The theory of specific versus formal discipline. A 
quotation from Professor Snedden. A quotation from Pro- 
fessor Thorndike. The practical conclusion. 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Page 232 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REFERENCES USED IN TEXT. 

Page 232 

INDEX. 

Page 237- 



Chapter 1. 

Introduction. 
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION. 

Purpose and point of view of the writer. It is the purpose 
of the writer to deal with the problem of education from the 
point of view of economy in learning and study. The student 
should be interested because his problem is to know how to 
learn and to study most effectively. The teacher should be 
interested because all teaching must be true to the laws of 
learning and of study and should not conflict with them. If 
teaching does conflict with the laws of learning it is relatively 
ineffective. Fundamental to knowing how to teach is know- 
ing how to help the student to learn. 

Education comes about through the learning process. The 
results of education are more or less permanent dispositions 
or tendencies of some kind. We may, then, define education 
tentatively as the making, modifying, and remaking of more 
or less permanent dispositions or tendencies. It will be 
shown later how these permanent tendencies make for fixity 
and stability on the one hand, and, on the other, for flexibility, 
originality, initiative, and may require conscious choice and 
moral reflection. 

Habit a convenient term. In order to conveniently express 
these more or less permanent dispositions or tendencies, mem- 
ories, habitudes, habits, interests and the like which are the 
result of education we shall use the word "habit." This word 
is used commonly in a narrower and in a broader way. In 
the narrower sense it refers to the more or less mechanical 
tendency to act as we have acted before. But it is used com- 
monly in a broader sense. Thus habit is defined as being 
"the tendency to think, feel and do as we have thought, felt 
or done before." In the broadest sense we find writers speak- 
ing of "habits of thought," "habits of liberality," "habits of 
devotion," "habits of attention," "moral habits," and we hear 
of people habitually liking or disliking this or that. Habit 
thus includes attitudes and may be used as a general term for 
all more or less permanent tendencies of mind and body. 

11 



12 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Habit but not automatism. Habit is thus used in this book, 
according to common usage, to refer in the broadest kind of 
way to the permanent acquisition of the individual. It is not 
to be interpreted as meaning a bringing about of automatism. 
It includes this, as in the best formed acts of skill, but it in- 
cludes much more. Making an individual a narrow mechan- 
ical kind of person could never be a satisfactory or adequate 
work of education. Man is not made to be an automaton. 
In fact, with normal people and any right kind of education 
there is no danger of making one an automaton. The fact is 
that fixity and plasticity exist together in the organism. The 
increase of fixity does not do away with the plasticity, though 
it modifies it, and brings not rigidity but elasticity. (62). 

Habit fixes but it also releases. The higher centers of the 
brain are released by habit to deal with the new and proble- 
matic, to make further modifications which may result in 
habit, and to permit greater and greater freedom in higher 
and still higher mental problems. The absurdity of the idea 
that habits rob the individual of further modifiability is shown 
by countless facts in our everyday observation. Men are all 
the time shifting from one thing to another, from one view to 
another, from one attitude to another. They are different in- 
dividuals in different years and even, sometimes, in different 
months of the same year. Deep set habits of a life time may 
be changed by disappointment in love, in business, by great 
good fortune, by deep emotional experiences. The facts sug- 
gest that more and not less permanence would be better and 
render the individual and society more stable and efficient. 

No justification for education which does not make perma- 
nent results. Furthermore, there would be no excuse for ed- 
ucation if the results of education were not in some way per- 
manent. If tendencies to think, feel, and do, could not be 
more or less well fixed in the organism, the efforts of teachers 
might as well stop. Just what these permanent tendencies 
shall be must be determined by society in terms of its needs, 
right desires and ideals. And the aims may be expressed in 
broad generalizations, such as, adaptation, social efficiency, 
or character. But we attain these things by acquiring the 
habits and by later modifying these habits and forming new 
ones to bring better adaptation, greater efficiency, the higher 
development of character. Social organization depends on 
custom and custom depends on habit. Evolution appears to 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION 13 

provide for just this bringing about of fixity and for the sub- 
sequent breaking up of the fixity for the purpose of further 
progress. Witness the change from plasticity to fixity from 
infancy to old age, and the production of plasticity again by 
means of the new generation. Witness in the course of his- 
tory the development of forms in social usage and the break- 
ing up of these forms or their modification for further pro- 
gress. 

The forming, modifying and remaking of habits, habitudes, 
dispositions, tendencies, etc., under the guidance of ideals set 
up by society, seems to be the fundamental work of education. 
The theory is not new. Witness the work of Radestock on 
"Habit and Education." (83). Many will accept this theory; 
others will be disturbed and object. It is worth noting that of 
the many people the writer has asked, none has been able to 
suggest an exception to the statement that all the results of 
education are habits of some kind. But remember that habit 
as defined by the author means more than is commonly meant 
by that term in its narrow mechanical signification. 

Only results in the individual dealt with in this book. Let 
it be fully understood at this point that the writer is not deal- 
ing with the results of education in society; nor with the ulti- 
mate results of education in the institutions of society. Here 
indeed, we may find other things than habits as the outcome 
of education. The only results of education considered under 
this theory of habit and, for the most part throughout this vol- 
ume, are the results in the individual. This point is of the 
greatest importance and must not be lost sight of. 

Second, and of equal importance, it must be understood and 
remembered that the writer has in mind the educational pro- 
cess in the individual. The futility and uselessness of at- 
tempting to give a simple definition of such complex things as 
education in its many phases, is fully apparent to the writer. 
There is no attempt to deal with education in all of its varied 
aspects. The attempt, — and it cannot, perhaps, be too much 
emphasized, or held too clearly in the mind of the reader, — is. 
to deal in the most fundamental and definite way possible 
with the educational processes, the means and methods of di- 
recting them, and the results of these educational processes in 
the individual. 

The importance of this educational process cannot be over- 
estimated. All that an individual is or can be, is the outcome 
of two things, physical heredity on the one hand, and educa- 



14 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

tion, or social heredity, on the other. Educational influences 
form, modify, change, bring about the most desirable devel- 
opment of that which is given in heredity. This process of 
education in the individual, not to speak of the education in 
the larger sense of its various aspects, ranks with the few 
great things in life, i. e., the process of getting food and drink, 
that of getting shelter and clothing, and of obtaining social in- 
tercourse with other human beings. If life is to go on normal- 
ly, we need all of these things. But, also, if living is to im- 
prove from generation to generation we are absolutely de- 
pendent upon education. 

Education compares in importance to heredity. A certain 
age old discussion, and the fact that it appears to be as far 
from settlement as ever, gives evidence of the value of edu- 
cation. I refer to the argument as to which is more import- 
ant, heredity or environment, nature or nurture. Than being 
necessarily thus ranked with heredity in importance in the 
minds of men, there could hardly be greater evidence of the 
value of education, nay, more, of its necessity. To recall the 
debt of civilization to those who kept learning alive during the 
dark ages, or to refer to the efforts of civilized countries to 
keep open their schools even during the ravages of desolating 
war, can add but little weight to the overwhelming evidence 
for the importance of and need for education already cited. 
Just as surely as the doing away with the results of physical 
heredity, if it were possible, would be the doing away with the 
race, so the doing away with the results of education would 
be the doing away with the achievements of the race,— civil- 
ization, efficiency, culture, and what not. 

But we hear objections to and adverse criticisms of educa- 
tion. Yes, and again, just as the objections to and adverse 
criticisms of heredity are in reality only against bad heredity; 
so are the adverse criticisms of education in reality only 
against bad or mis-directed education. If we need good her- 
edity, so do we need good education. Or better still, if we 
work for the best heredity, so should we work for the best 
education. 

Still another fact may be brought forward to indicate the 
importance of education. Turn to the anthropologist, if you 
please and realize, that in looking back through the history of 
the race, he finds it impossible to discover evidence that the 
physical endowment of the modern man is any better than 
the physical endowment of the most primitive man of whom 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION 15 

we have knowledge. To what, then, is his advancement due? 
To the results of the educational process, i. e., to the results, 
in other words, of social heredity. Or grant, if you will, the 
very doubtful proposition that acquired characteristics can be 
inherited, that the modifications of the body cells can also 
modify the germ cells of the present and therefore of succeed- 
ing generations, how are we told that the modifications of the 
germ cells can be brought about? Only by thorough modifi- 
cation of the body cells through many generations. Here 
again the necessary resort to education. 

Importance of the Habit Theory. Habit formation, modi- 
fication and remaking as the basis of education have not 
been sufficiently stressed as principles in the actual work of 
education. And if the Habit Theory is inadequate, it still 
seems that inestimable advantage could be gained by begin- 
ning with it, and carrying it as far as possible. Before the 
work on reflexes was done, no one probably dreamed of the 
immense light it would throw upon more complex processes. 
And if educators would not only accept in theory the principle 
of habit, but also shape their work in accordance with it, it is 
not unlikely that we would find a solution for many, if not for 
most of our so-called higher and more complex problems of 
education. 

Habit a universal principle. It is not inappropriate to in- 
dicate that this principle of habit, or the tendency for repeti- 
tion, is fundamental for phenomena other than those found 
in the human and animal organism. 

The logician tells us that "Induction is only possible on the 
assumption that things not only are together but belong to- 
gether the universal nature of a thing cannot be discov- 
ered in the form of some essence or substance that remains 

permanent and unchanging it must be defined through 

the constancy of behavior shown in its changing relations to 
its environment." (19). 

But even more, the finding of things happening again as 
they have happened before under the same conditions is at 
the very bottom of our thinking and a necessary basis of all 
reasoning. According to Pearson, "Anything, be it noted, that 
tends to weaken our confidence in the uniform order of phe- 
nomena, in what we have termed the routine of perceptions, 
tends also to stultify our reasoning faculty by destroying the 
sole basis of our knowledge." (76). 

Jevons writes that "It must be the ground of all reasoning 



16 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

and inference that what is true of one thing will be true of its 
equivalent, and that under carefully ascertained conditions, 
Nature repeats herself." (45). "We must always rise to 
something which is general or same in the cases (of induc- 
tion), and assuming that sameness to be extended to new cases 
we learn their nature. Hearing a clock tick five thousand 
times without exception or variation, we adopt the very prob- 
able hypothesis that there is some invariably active machine 
which produces those uniform sounds, and which will, in the 
absence of change, go on producing them." (46). 

On what else can prediction in any science be based than on 
the assumption that what nature has done before under cer- 
tain conditions, will be done again under those conditions? 
"Every law of nature is the statement of a certain uniformity 
observed to exist among phenomena, and since the laws of 
nature are invariably obeyed, it seems to follow that the course 
of nature itself is uniform, so that we can safely judge of the 
future by the present. This inference is supported by some of 
the results of physical astronomy." (47). 

Habit and the social sciences. Or let us turn to history. We 
are all accustomed to the phrase that "history repeats itself." 
The orders and speeches of Napoleon to his troops are seem- 
ingly repeated in the present speeches and messages of the 
Kaiser to his troops. The French denunciation of the English 
one hundred years ago appears today in the German denunci- 
ation of the English. The treaty of Utrecht and the reappor- 
tioning of Europe among the powers, (1713-14), finds its coun- 
terpart in the Congress of Vienna and another reapportioning 
of Europe, (1815). We may ask, will this analog of habit ap- 
pear the same as before? The present war completes part of 
the repetition of events. Will the reapportioning of Europe 
again recur? 

Biology furnishes analogs. Spencer writes: "A species of 
plant that has been transformed from one soil or climate to 
another, frequently undergoes what botanists call 'a change of 
habit.' " (92.) 

In the field of social psychology McDougall tells us, "In short, 
the formation of habits by the individuals of each generation 
is an essential condition of the perpetuation of custom, and 
custom is the principle condition of all social organization." 
(63) . Ross, in his Social Psychology, also shows the working 
of this fundamental law. (87). 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION 17 

Sumner in his excellent work in social science takes us again 
to habit. In the preface he says : "The thesis which is ex- 
pounded in these chapters (chs. 1 and 2) is : that the folkways 
are habits of the individual and customs of the society which 
arise from efforts to satisfy needs," etc. (93) . 

In his Laws of Imitation, Tarde (106), writes: "Repetition 
exists, then, for the sake of variation." "Science, as I have 
said, deals only with quantities and growths, or in more gen- 
eral terms, with the resemblances and repetitions of phenom- 
ena Every advance of knowledge tends to strengthen 

the conviction that all resemblance is due to repetition." "In 
the distant future all social phenomena will be reducible to 
mathematical formula." ....".... every civilization is fated to 

begin its endless cycle over again." "Everything repeats 

itself, and nothing persists." .... "Tradition and custom, the 
conservative forms of imitation, have been fixing and perpet- 
uating its new acquisitions and consolidating its increments in 
the heart of every class of people that has been raised up 
through the example of higher classes or of more civilized 
neighbors." 

Ellwood, summarizing the studies of the classicists in social 
theory, says that, "Law in the social sciences, then, rests upon 
the fact of habit. ... A social law is a statement of the habitual 
way in which individuals, or groups of individuals, interact." 
(26). 

In the realm of philosophy we find Taylor telling us that 
"We should . . . have to think of the Taws' or 'uniformities' in 
physical nature as corresponding to the habitual modes of re- 
action of the sentient beings Habit and spontaneity would 

mutually imply each other in nature at large." (107). 

Habit at bottom a matter of physics. Early in his great 
chapter on "Habit" James tells us, "that we may without hes- 
itation lay down as our first proposition the following, that the 
phenomena of habit in living beings are due to the plasticity 
of the organic materials of which their bodies are composed. 

But the philosophy of habit is thus, in the first instance, a 
chapter in physics rather than in physiology or psychology. 
That it is at bottom a physical principle is admitted by all re- 
cent writers on the subject. They call attention to analogues 
of acquired habits exhibited by dead matter. Thus, M. Leon 
Dumont, whose essay on habit is perhaps the most philosophi- 
cal account yet published, writes: 'Every one knows how a 
garment, after having been worn a certain time, clings to the 



18 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

shape of the body better than when it was new; there has been 
a change in the tissue, and this change is a new habit of co- 
hesion. A lock works better after being used some time; at 
the outset more force was required to overcome certain rough- 
nesses in the mechanism. The overcoming of their resistence 
is a phenomenon of habituation. It costs less trouble to fold 
a paper when it has been folded already. This saving of 
trouble is due to the essential nature of habit, which brings it 
about that, to reproduce the effect, a less amount of the out- 
ward cause is required. The sounds of a violin improve by 
use in the hands of an able artist, because the fibres of the 
wood at last contract habits of vibration conformed to har- 
monic relations. This is what gives such inestimable value to 
instruments that have belonged to great masters. Water, in 
flowing, hollows out for itself a channel, which grows broader 
and deeper; and, after having ceased to flow, it resumes, when 
it flows again, the path traced by itself before. Just so, the 
impressions of outer objects fashion for themselves in the ner- 
vous system more and more appropriate paths, and these vital 
phenomena recur under similar excitements from without, 
when they have been interrupted a certain time.' 

Not in the nervous system alone. A scar anywhere is a 
locus minoris resistentiae, more liable to be abraded, inflamed, 
to suffer pain and cold, than are the neighboring parts. A 
sprained ankle; a dislocated arm, are in danger of being 
sprained or dislocated again; joints that have once been at- 
tacked by rheumatism or gout, mucous membranes that have 
been the seat of catarrh, are with each fresh recurrence more 
prone to a relapse, until often the morbid state chronically 
substitutes itself for the sound one. And if we ascend to the 
nervous system, we find how many so-called functional dis- 
eases seem to keep themselves going simply because they hap- 
pen to have once begun." (33). (See also 117). 

This is a long quotation. But probably nowhere and at no 
time has the fundamental and comprehensive nature of habit 
been better stated. Two other principles of education must 
also be considered. 

Ideals and standards. The making, modifying, and remak- 
ing of habits should be done under the guidance of ideals set 
up by society. What ideals shall be set up is a problem of 
the philosophy of education and does not primarily concern 
us in this book. At bottom it is an ethical problem: what 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION 19 

should be the sum total of habits of the educated person, the 
intellectual, emotional, and motor habits? 

Also the making, remaking, and modifying of habits should 
be determined as much as possible at each stage of education 
by standards determined by educators. For each mental age 
there must be certain standards which students shall be ex- 
pected to reach in each subject or activity. We have thus 
three great principles of education. We might, of course, em- 
phasize needs. But it is assumed that the needs of the indi- 
vidual and of society are cared for in the ideals. 

The three great principles of education. The fundamental 
working principle of education is thus seen to' be the making, 
modifying, and remaking of Habit. The guiding principle of 
education is striving towards Ideals. The controlling prin- 
ciple of education is attaining Standards. The ideals may be 
those of neatness, loyalty, accuracy, clear thinking, perfect 
memories, appreciation of the best in literature, art and 
science, the best kind of critical judgment in a chosen field of 
thought, accurate spelling of all words, perfect rendition of a 
piece of music, etc. The strivings toward these should reach 
certain standards determined by educators. In terms of these 
principles we can give a more complete definition of educa- 
tion. Education is the making, modifying, and remaking of 
habits under the guidance of ideals and the control of stand- 
ards. 

It is not inappropriate to say that inasmuch as the making 
and modifying of habits is the modifying primarily of the ner- 
vous system, there is nothing more fundamental or valuable 
for the teacher than a knowledge of the nature and working 
of the nervous system. In all fields the best progress has al- 
ways been made) by starting at the bottom and working up. 
In education the way is not to begin with philosophy and work- 
down, but to begin with the fundamental processes of the 
nervous system, with the neuron, and work up. 

The means of Education. All the inherited tendencies of 
the organism are the means of education. The extent of edu- 
cation depends upon the capacities that physical heredity 
gives. Thus the fullest knowledge of these is indispensible to 
the teacher. All the methods that the teacher can use are 
methods to take advantage of these native tendencies, to de- 
velop them, to make the most of them. 

These methods of dealing with the individual for the pur- 
pose of modifying him, that is, of educating him in the most 



20 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

economical way, are the things with which the teacher must 
be most familiar in the actual teaching. Never before has 
the demand for the best method been so insistent as it is today. 
The past has been chiefly interested in the methods of teach- 
ing; the present is specially interested in the methods of study- 
ing. The writer has tried to present to the teacher the results 
of psychological study with the emphasis upon the learning 
by the pupil. Only in so far as the methods of learning are 
known can the best methods of teaching be discovered. For, 
ultimately, the ways in which learning goes on must determine 
the methods of the teacher. 

The educative process is then essentially that of making and 
modifying the individual's tendencies to think, to feel and to 
act. As long as the educative process goes on, there is a con- 
tinual remaking of the individual. The process of remaking 
the individual so that he approaches the ideals of his people, 
is the process by virtue of which he comes to acquire those 
ideals as his own. 

The greatest needs of education. The greatest needs of ed- 
ucation are those of clearness, definiteness and concreteness. 
The lack of these things has been the worst kind of a handi- 
cap. Vagueness has been declared to be the greatest vice of 
education. Variety of aim, and of method, and indefiniteness 
of end product which may be observed and measured, have 
for too long characterized educational procedure. Measure- 
ment of educational products has begun and it is of the great- 
est value. We need some principles by means of which we 
can understand and interpret the work of education, and 
which we can use as working principles for the direction and 
control of the educational processes and for the measurement 
of the end products. It is the purpose of the next two chap- 
ters to show the teacher how three great principles enter into 
the work of education, to explain the nature of the great basic 
principle of education, and thus to lay the foundation for all 
understanding and practice of directing the process of edu- 
cation. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Compare the principles of education emphasized in this 
chapter with others with which you are familiar. 

2. Try to state in your own words why you think the author 
has chosen to emphasize the principles indicated. 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION 21 

3. Can you think of any work of the school, which is worthy 
of being continued, which does not result in some permanent 
changes in the pupil? 

4. Does helping the children to harmless enjoyment con- 
stitute an exception? If there should be permanent results 
here what are they? 

5. What does the term habit mean for the author and how 
is it commonly used? 

6. What facts can you state as to the importance of educa- 
tion? 

7. Show how the principle of habit appears in various fields 
of thought. 

8. What are the functions of ideals and of standards in 
education? 

9. Why are clearness and definiteness so much needed in 
education? 



Chapter 2. 
NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION. 

Purpose of the chapter. In the present chapter it is the pur- 
pose of the writer to help the teacher to a more thorough un- 
derstanding of the nature of habit in the broadest sense of 
that term, and of how habit formation and modification are the 
fundamental concerns of the teacher because they are the 
fundamental processes in education. For this purpose num- 
erous quotations have been chosen, partly to introduce the 
reader to some of the most authoritative statements and 
studies of the subject of habit, and partly, to show how funda- 
mental, adequate, and comprehensive the habit theory is, as 
indicated by men who have written at different times and with 
different interests. Quotations that appear in this chapter 
give us conclusions of men who have written from the points 
of view of neurology, of pure psychology, of educational psy- 
chology and pedagogy. 

This chapter should help us to see how whatever one thinks, 
feels, or does, tends to become, in the form of habit, a very 
part of his being. If we can understand fully the getting of 
results in education, z. e., skills, memories, understanding, in- 
terests and appreciation, tendencies to act in accordance with 
certain ideals, and all the rest, we can see how the work and 
methods of education become definite. If, as Professor An- 
gell says, the processes which bring order out of threatened 
chaos in the human organism leave it a group of habits, so 
perhaps, education may be brought to the best, clearest, most 
definite working efficiency by thorough conformance to the 
laws of habit. 

The fundamental nature and importance of habit. No- 
where, perhaps, has the fundamental nature and the import- 
ance of habit been better shown than by Dr. Carpenter. "It is 
a matter of universal experience," he writes, "that every kind 
of training for special aptitudes is both far more effective, and 
leaves a more permanent impress, when exerted on the grow- 
ing organism than when brought to bear on the adult. The 
effect of such training is shown in the tendency of the organ 
to 'grow to' the mode in which it is habitually exercised; as is 

22 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 23 

evidenced by the increased size and power of particular sets 
of muscles, and the extraordinary flexibility of joints, which 
are acquired by such as have early exercised in gymnastic per- 
formances There is no part of the organism of man in 

which the reconstructive activity is so great, during the whole 
period of life, as it is in the ganglionic substance of the brain. 
This is indicated by the enormous supply of blood which it re- 
ceives It is, moreover, a fact of great significance that the 

nerve-substance is specially distinguished by its reparative 
power. . . . . the study of psychology has evolved no more cer- 
tain result than that there are uniformities of mental action 
which are so entirely conformable to those of bodily action as 
to indicate their intimate relation to a 'mechanism of thought 
and feeling,' acting under the like conditions with that of 
sense and motion. The psychical principle of association, 
indeed, and the physiological principles of nutrition, simply 
express the former in terms of mind, the latter in terms of 
brain — the universally admitted fact that any sequence of 
mental action which has been frequently repeated tends to 
perpetuate itself; so that we find ourselves automatically 
prompted to think, feel or do what we have been before ac- 
customed to think, feel, or do, under like circumstances, with- 
out any consciously formed purpose, or anticipation of re- 
sults. For there is no reason to regard the cerebrum as an ex- 
ception to the general principle that, while each part of the 
organism tends to form itself in accordance with the mode in 
which it is habitually exercised, this tendency will be especial- 
ly strong with the nervous apparatus, in virtue of that inces- 
sant regeneration which is the very condition of its functional 
activity. It scarcely, indeed, admits of doubt that every state 
of ideational consciousness which is either very strong or is 
habitually repeated leaves an organic impression on the cer- 
ebrum; in virtue of which that same state may be reproduced 
at any future time, in respondence to a suggestion fitted to ex- 
cite it The 'strength of early association' is a fact so un- 
iversally recognized that the expression of it has become prov- 
erbial; and this precisely accords with the physiological prin- 
ciple that, during the period of growth and development, the 
formative activity of the brain will be most amenable to di- 
rective influences. It is in this way that what is early learn- 
ed by heart' becomes branded in (as it were) upon the cereb- 
rum; so that its 'traces' are never lost, even though the con- 
scious memory of it may have completely faded out. For, 



24 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

when the organic modification has been once fixed in the 
growing brain, it becomes a part of the normal fabric, and is 
regularly maintained by nutritive substitution; so that it may 
endure to the end of life, like the scar of a wound." (14) 
(Also 34). 

These modifications which result in habits make up one's 
education. These facts are not only fundamentally true and 
vitally important, but also give the basis for the much needed 
definiteness and specificness to the problem of and procedure 
in education. This it can do by defining the habits to be form- 
ed, thousands of habits of spelling, of arithmetic, of French, 
of German, of mechanical acts and skill, etc. It would thus 
have end products, i. e., behavior which results from habits 
formed, which could be measured. This, furthermore, is ex- 
actly what is measured by the educational examinations and 
tests at the present time. 

Taking certain habits as the ends to be attained, the teacher 
could have a clear and definite idea of his work and could be 
able to look for the particular means of attaining these ends 
and know when he has attained them. 

Comprehensiveness of the principle of habit. While this 
conception of education is fundamental it is also comprehen- 
sive. The growth of our perception is a matter of habit 
formation; perception does not actually take place until one 
comes to associate certain meanings with certain sense im- 
pressions and this soon is habit; memory is a kind of habit, 
(65). depending upon associations which tend to recur again 
as they earlier appeared. Likes and dislikes are habits, and 
if we could not get our pupils to habitually like and prefer 
certain more worthy things and actions, and to habitually dis- 
like and refuse other things and actions which are unworthy, 
we might well despair of ever raising them to any higher 
moral, aesthetic, or other levels whose attainment depends 
upon the higher feelings and sentiments. 

The formation of so many thousands of habits as the aim of 
education is only a more clearly defined way of saying that 
the aim of education is the development of character. For 
character, when it is analyzed, is found to be the sum total of 
one's habits of thinking, feeling, and doing. If the teacher at- 
tempts to follow the extremely vague and indefinite direction : 
Develop the characters of your pupils, there is no possible way 
in which he can go about doing it except by directing the de- 
velopment of habits. 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 25 

Prof. Titchener tells us that "the habit imposed by education 
becomes second nature. This, indeed, is the chief problem of 
education. In psychological language, the teacher must find 
out the child's natural mental constitution, noticing the good 
and bad features of it, and must seek by influence of all kinds 
to accentuate the good and minimise the bad. In biological 
language, he must find out the child's natural nervous tenden- 
cies, and strive — by favoring the formation of good habits— 
to keep the right channels open for the flow of mental process- 
es and dam up those that lead mind astray. Natural consti- 
tution and natural tendency must be partly reinforced and 
partly checked by acquired constitution and acquired ten- 
dency." (116). 

The work of the teacher. "All our life," wrote James, "so 
far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits, — practical, 
emotional, and intellectual, — systematically organized for our 
weal or woe, and bearing us irressistibly toward our destiny, 
whatever the latter may be. . . . Ninety-nine hundredths or, 
possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our ac- 
tivity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the 

morning to our lying down each night the teacher's prime 

concern should be to ingrain into the pupils that assortment of 
habits that shall be most useful to him throughout life. Edu- 
cation is for behavior and habits are the stuff of which be- 
havior consists." (42). 

It is then the concern of the teacher to understand what 
habits should be formed, to learn how they can most econom- 
ically and most thoroughly be developed, and to train himself 
in the technique which is necessary for directing the develop- 
ment of new habits and the modifications of old ones, — i. e., 
the language, arithmetic, science, aesthetic, motor, attentive, 
and other kinds of habits. And not only habits which appear 
in external behavior, but also those habits which are internal 
and may never be apparent from ordinary observation, which 
may, for example, result in inhibition, in refusal to do the un- 
kind, the immoral, or other undesirable act e. g., habits of de- 
cision. 

Sully on Habit. Writing on habit, Prof. Sully tells us that: 
"The dependence of mental development on cerebral changes 
is illustrated in a peculiar way in the phenomena of habit. By 
the term habit is meant the transformation of once fully con- 
scious mental processes into semi-conscious or automatic ac- 
tions, as in the practised actions of walking, writing, and so 



26 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

forth. This result depends, it is evident, on the perfect co-or- 
dination of certain central elements. As a result of such per- 
fect "organization" of psychical actions nervous energy is lib- 
erated for the building up of new formations. (96). 

Development and habit. Mental development implies not 
merely an advance from lower to higher psychical forms, but 
a growing rapidity and facility in all recurring or repeated 
processes. This result, already touched on in connection with 
organic development, is an extension of the psycho-physical 
attribute, retentiveness. We carry out accustomed acts of 
perception, as in recognising a person, customary trains of 
ideas, as in learning a series of historical events, and habitual 
actions, as in swimming or skating, more and more rapidly, 
and with less and less strain of attention, just because of the 
organization of the traces of previous like actions. So far as 
this organization comes in, the conscious element grows weak- 
er, and tends to lapse. To this extent habit would seem to 
imply no psychical but only nervous development. 

This dropping out of the conscious factor as the consequence 
of repeated exercise and of habit is, however, only one part of 
the result. The tendency of repeated psycho-physical pro- 
cesses to become automatic and unconscious sets free the ac- 
tivity of attention for further processes of psychical acquisi- 
tion and growth. Indeed, it is only by this economising of at- 
tention or consciousness in the case of habitual processes that 
the more complicated psychical processes become possible. 
Thus it is by learning to recognise first words, and then groups 
of words, swiftly and automatically, that we are able to carry 
out the difficult, complex intellectual processes of reading." 

Two meanings of habit. "Habit, as we shall see, has a nar- 
rower and a wider meaning. When it refers to the rigid fix- 
ing of ideas or actions in one definite order it is a force that 
opposes development. Habitual action or grouping of ideas 
means action or grouping which is altered with difficulty. 
This is seen in the case of the uneducated mind, which is nar- 
row and rigid, just because it has formed certain fixed modes 
of associating ideas through which it cannot break. But taken 
in a larger sense, as including all the effect of repetition of 
psychical processes, habit is an integral factor in the processes 
of development itself; for it is only by retaining the traces of 
our past activity that we can render this activity more per- 
fectr (97). 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 27 

"We are best fitted to cope with our life-surroundings when 
we are able on the one hand to carry out all recurring uniform 
modes of responsive action easily, simply and automatically, 
and at the same time to bring to bear a highly evolved reflec- 
tive consciousness on new, difficult, and complex problems of 
life." (98). 

Comprehensiveness of the habit theory. For those who are 
used to thinking of habit in a narrow sense there will undoubt- 
edly be objection to making habit the all embracing thing 
which the writer is attempting to do. But if he will go through 
the pages of a psychology, such as that of Prof. Angell, he will 
see how inevitably habit appears as the result of the modified 
nervous system. The following quotations help to indicate 
this inevitable and comprehensive result, that is, habit, and if 
there is any result of education which does not fall under this 
head, it will appear to be an exception to the rule. 

Writing on habit, Prof. Angell says: "The whole course of 
mental development could truly enough be described as made 
up of this process of acquiring habits, which once imbedded 
in the tissues of the nervous system become the permanent 
possession of the individual, ready, when need arises, to step 
in and deal with the necessities of any particular situation. 
, . . . Neural habit .... is not only the great emancipator of 
consciousness from the necessities of endless control over the 
same trivial round of acts, it is the great tool by which that 
feature of mind which we call the will executes its behests 
and renders our mental decisions and choices effective in the 
world of action. Without habits, consciousness could never 
get beyond the borders of the inevitable daily routine. With 
habit, however, it is able to pass from victory to victory, leav- 
ing behind in captivity the special coordinations it needs." 
(3). 

The formation of habits. "It shall be our next business to 
trace in outline the process by which consciousness and the 
brain bring order out of ... . threatened chaos and leave the 
organism a group of habits to which additions are continually 
made and by means of which the organism becomes increas- 
ingly master of the situation. This account will be only a 
sketch, however, for all the rest of our study will be devoted 
to filling in the details. In the chapters upon volition we shall 
return specifically to these very points." (4). 

Passing over these pages which give the details mentioned, 
but to the most important (5) of which the writer gives page 



28 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

references, if the reader cares to look them up, we come to 
Angell's concluding statements : "When we bring all our con- 
siderations together it becomes obvious that the proposition 
from which we set out early in our work is true in a very wide 
and deep sense. Mind we have found to be, indeed, an engine 
for accomplishing the most remarkable adjustments of the or- 
ganism to its life conditions. We have seen how the various 
features of cognitive and affective consciousness contribute 
each its quota to the general efficiency of the reactions which 
the organism is able to make upon its surroundings, physical 
and social .... we have discovered volition concerned with 
impulses, with pleasure and pain, with emotion, with ideas, 
with sensations, with memory, with reasoning, and with every 
form and type of mental operation. We have observed the 
evolving control beginning with the mere mastery of move- 
ments, passing from this to more and more remote ends, for 
the attainment of which the previously mastered movements 
now available as habitual coordinations are employed, until 
finally we find the mind setting up for itself the ideas which 
we call ideals, and by means of these shaping the whole course 
of a lifetime." (6). 

Habit is fundamental for the most complete kind of think- 
ing. The teacher should realize how thoroughly necessary 
habit is to the higher forms of thought, reasoning, original 
thinking, and the like. Any kind of thinking whatever ap- 
pears to be dependent upon just this elementary law of habit. 
"I shall try to show, in the pages which immediately follow," 
writes James, "that there is no other elementary causal law of 
association than the law of neural habit. All the materials of 
our thought are due to the way in which one elementary pro- 
cess of the cerebral hemispheres tends to excite whatever 
other elementary process it may have excited at some former 
time. The number of elementary processes at work, however, 
and the nature of those which at any time are fully effective in 
rousing the others, determine the character of the total brain- 
action, and, as a consequence of this, they determine the object 
thought of at the time. According as this resultant object is 
one thing or another, we call it a product of association by 
contiguity or of association by similarity, or contrast, or what- 
ever other sorts we may have recognized as ultimate. Its pro- 
duction, however, is, in each one of these cases, to be explain- 
ed by a merely quantitative variation in the elementary brain- 
processes momentarily at work under the law of habit, so that 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 29 

psychic contiguity, similarity, etc., are derivatives of a single 
profounder fact." (35) .... "From the guessing of newspaper 
enigmas to the plotting of the policy of an empire there is no 
other process than this. We trust to the laws of cerebral na- 
ture to present us spontaneously with the appropriate idea." 
(36). 

"The way to a deeper understanding of the order of our 
ideas lies in the direction of cerebral physiology. The ele- 
mentary process of revival can he nothing but the law of 

habit." " But even though there be a mental spontaneity, 

it can certainly not create ideas or summon them ex abrupto. 
Its power is limited to selecting amongst those which the as- 
sociative machinery has already introduced or tends to intro- 
duce." (37). 

Formation of new habits. In another place he writes, "I 
have been accused, when talking of the subject of habit, of 
making old habits appear so strong that the acquiring of new 
ones, and particularly anything like a sudden reform or con- 
version, would be made impossible by my doctrine (the doc- 
trine, namely, that "Education is for behavior, and habits are 
the stuff of which behavior consists"). Of course this would 
suffice to condemn the latter; for sudden conversions, how- 
ever infrequent they may be, unquestionably do occur. But 
there is no incompatibility between the general laws I have 
laid down and the most startling sudden alterations in the way 
of character. New habits can be launched, I have expressly 
said, on condition of there being new stimuli and new excite- 
ments. Now life abounds in these, and sometimes they are 
such critical and revolutionary experiences that they change 
a man's whole scale of value and system of ideas. In such 
cases, the old order of his habits will be ruptured; and, if the 
new motives are lasting, new habits will be formed, and build 
up in him a new or regenerate 'nature.' ' (43). 

Habit and originality. Nevertheless from one quarter we 
hear that the originality of the educated man has been spoiled 
by the college. From another quarter we are told that there 
is no one so set in his ways, so inflexible in his thinking as the 
uneducated. The fact is that the ways of the educated and 
the uneducated may become fixed, and either may fail in ab- 
ility to be original, or what is worse, to accept the worthwhile 
originality of others. 

What kinds of habits are necessary to keep one from this 
rut of stereotypy? And is it after all habit that is to blame 



30 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

for the inability to look at things from more than one point of 
view, for always thinking exactly the same thing and doing 
exactly the same thing in the similar situations of life? The 
difficulty is not in having these habits, but in not having other 
habits as well, other habits from which one may choose and 
thus respond in different ways as the particular needs of the 
situation and the times demand. 

This may be shown by the following considerations. Let 
us take on the one hand, the man who has thought according 
to one point of view, and in terms of one theory all his life. 
His habits of thinking are fixed and his actions are always in 
accordance with this one fixed mode of thinking. On the 
other hand, take the man who has thought out the same prob- 
lems from different points of view, i. e., who has formed sever- 
al habits of thought where the other man had one. He may, 
therefore, act not merely in some one fixed way, but in one 
situation at one time one of these habits of thought may gain 
the ascendency and determine the action, at another time an- 
other of the habits of thought may win out and determine the 
response. 

Habit and plasticity. Sully tells us, "It is evident from our 
account of habit that it is essentially a process of fixation, a re- 
striction of movement to definite lines. Habitual actions, just 
because they become sub-conscious and largely non-voluntary, 
are rendered stable and unalterable. Habit thus presents one 
aspect which is opposed to all that we understand by develop- 
ment or progress. Itself the product of development, it tends 
in its turn to obstruct to some extent further development. 
We see this in the difficulty the tyro at the oars encounters in 
turning his boat, rowing with the one arm and backing water 
with the other; and in the common failure of stout resolve to 
break through noxious habits. 

While, however, in its narrower and more rigid form, habit 
diminishes the plasticity of the neuro-muscular apparatus, it 
would be an error to suppose that it is wholly an obstacle to 
progress. This would overlook the range of the principle, its- 
influence in cases where action falls far short of the automatic 
stage, and also misunderstand the nature of motor develop- 
ment. What we call new movements are never wholly new, 
and, as pointed out above, the perfect mastery of particular 
movements always helps us to the mastery of others. Thus 
the movements of equilibration and locomotion in skating 
are, as every learner knows, greatly furthered by previously 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 31 

acquired and habitual movements. The learning here con- 
sists in a few and comparatively slight modifications of old 
combinations in particular directions; and though the modifi- 
cations may be difficult through the obstructive force of the 
previous coordinations, they are a far less difficult operation 
than would be the learning of the whole group of movements 
de novo." (99). 

The danger of too much fixity. The question of the dan- 
ger of too much fixity, the killing of originality, and the 
like, may always arise to point out a possible bad effect of ed- 
ucation, that is, of the formation and modification of habits. 
Occasionally an article appears in which the writer has en- 
deavored to show that our original men are men who never 
had the advantage or disadvantage of a college education; 
their originality was not taken away from them by an educa- 
tion which fixed their thoughts in the ruts of academic think- 
ing, in stereotyped ways of looking at things. Suppose that 
for the majority of people education does bring about a good 
deal of fixity, of following in the thoughts and ways of the 
teachers, this may not be so bad considering the value of most 
of this much vaunted originality. The writer hazards the 
statement that for every list of men who have produced valu- 
able original things without having had formal school train- 
ing, equally imposing lists could be made of men who have 
produced things of originality and of as great or greater value, 
who have had this school training. If a careful comparison 
were made of the products of the originality of men with and 
without school and college educations, it is not at all unlikely 
that the men of the greater amount of education would be 
found to have produced per capita more things of originality 
and of lasting value than have those without this education. 
The originality of the expert, of the man with the best knowl- 
edge of the best in his line, is, in other words, likely to be the 
most valuable, and to be just as frequently found. As has al- 
ready been said, the instability of the individual in everyday 
life, in vocations, etc., suggests that perhaps more and not less 
fixity would be well. A recent writer tells us that the average 
length of time a man holds a position in the United States is 
less than a year. 

No necessary danger of losing plasticity through education. 
The danger of losing plasticity that is sometimes expressed is 
not founded upon the facts of experience. We do not find 
that the man who has practised and formed many habits has 



32 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

become thereby unable to make new habits or to modify his 
old habits. The most highly educated people are not found 
to be unable to accept new ideas. True, we can find plenty of 
cases in which people appear unable to change. We find 
plenty who are 'set in their way.' But we can find also many 
who are able to change and who do change even in advanced 
years of life. It is in the advanced years that we may look for 
the fixity that does not change. And this fact of age is the 
one that we must look to if we would find that which leaves 
increasingly less and less plasticity. In other words it is sen- 
ility and not the number of habits that means the loss of plas- 
ticity. 

Even the reflexes have not lost all plasticity but are in some 
cases at least modifiable. Angell writes "that certain of them 
are unquestionably open to modification, either through the 
direct control of the mind, as when one succeeds in suppress- 
ing a tendency to wink, or through the indirect effect of gen- 
eral organic conditions." (7). 

As one can demonstrate by experiment, the winking reflex 
can be practically eliminated by practice. Have someone 
place a glass immediately in front of the eye and hit the glass 
continually with a felt hammer. The winking finally disap- 
pears. 

Flexibility depends partly on a variety of habits. Besides 
the fact that plasticity is still present until advanced years, 
flexibility depends partly on having a variety of habits for sit- 
uations in which a variety of responses may be desired. And, 
from these habits, one should have the habit of choosing. This 
choice may take the form of choosing partly from one habit 
and partly from another. Moreover, the impulse may guide 
one to modify some old habit a little or a good deal, and the 
original comes out of such an operation if it occurs at all. Re- 
member again how James pointed out that from the simplest 
thinking to the most complex, we are dependent upon the as- 
sociations and what they can suggest. Education can train 
to habits of looking at the same thing from different points of 
view, and of reacting to the same thing in different ways. It 
may, in other words, by developing a variety of tendencies to 
react, lay the foundation which avoids the inflexibility, and 
which helps, — not merely permits,— but helps to bring about 
a variety of possible responses. 

Both fixity and flexibility are desirable, in some things the 
one, in some things the other to a larger degree. Spelling* 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 33 

multiplication, addition, and many like things call for fixity of 
response. The choice of methods of solving problems, the 
taking of new points of view, the accepting of new ideas, de- 
mand thought about such things in different ways, i. e., habits 
of thinking and of acting in different ways. 

Variety of response a peculiarly human trait. We come to 
a most significant thing in connection with the human being 
when we deal with the more and more varied modes of re- 
sponse in a given situation. By nature man has the possibil- 
ity of more ways of responding to situations than the lower 
animals. Through education he may find more than he could 
otherwise know. He may, in other words, through the chosen 
experiences brought about by his teachers discover responses 
of which he had never thought and of which he might not be 
able of himself to think. He may have as a result of his edu- 
cation very many tendencies from which to choose instead of 
only a few or of only one; or, he may hesitate in great moral 
matters, where, before, he acted on some primitive impulse 
and habit arising from the activity of that primitive impulse. 
To hesitate before we do the immoral act may mean that we 
are saved; that we make the moral decision after all and act 
accordingly. So, out of education may come that higher re- 
sult, the development of ideas of better action, from which 
one chooses according to the particular situation in which he 
is placed. This is a peculiarly human thing, that an impulse 
can shoot through a new brain path; that of many possible 
tendencies, one of many, instead of one only, may function. 

The varying strengths of habits. Using habit as we have 
broadly defined it, that is, as more or less permanent dispo- 
sitions or tendencies, we find tendencies of various strengths. 
Language supplies us with terms which express some of these 
degrees, as for example, inclination, desire, bent, bias, leaning, 
attitude, disposition, predisposition, mood, passion, craving, 
automatisms. Habits of all degrees of strength exist. We 
may, perhaps, for practical purposes distinguish five degrees: 
1) There are the strongest habits which we may call automatic 
or reflex. These are habits that tend to act invariably on the 
appropriate stimulus. They include tendencies that wore in- 
born and have been often repeated, and tendencies thai were 
acquired early in life which have also had much repetition. 
Things learned later in life may approach this degree of auto- 
matism, but rarely if ever reach it. Habits formed in a strict 
military school during lour years and repeated daily through- 



34 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

out that period might furnish examples of this order. These 
are quite fully second nature, so to speak. 2) Well establish- 
ed habits of adult life, such as professional habits, ways of do- 
ing things, ways of looking at things, affective responses of the 
artist, and the like. 3) The fairly well formed habits of life, 
such as the things that are pretty well learned in school and 
college, things that we recall but not perfectly, activities that 
we can perform, but which need considerable practice before 
they are prompt and sure. 4) The dispositions that may or 
may not act upon the proper occasion, that depend upon re- 
cency of practice and mood, and the number of obstacles or 
inhibitions that arise to hinder them. 5) The weakest tenden- 
cies which have relatively little effect on the individual, and 
which tend to die out in a very short time and leave but the 
faintest trace. The faintest impression probably leaves some 
effect upon the nervous system, although it may be so little 
that for practical purposes it can be ignored. 

The teacher should be very much interested in the matter of 
the strengths of various habits. Some are to be brought to the 
greatest strength and others do not need to be so completely 
learned. For those which are to be brought to the highest de- 
gree of strength, there must be the most frequent repetition, 
unbroken continuity, correctness of response, and other help- 
ful factors; while for things that are not to be so completely 
learned and mastered, efforts can be less strenuous. 

Education and initiative. Education which fails to arouse 
the pupil to try new methods, to work out new results, to act 
in a different and more appropriate way in the varying situa- 
tions of life would fail in that all important thing which we 
call initiative. There is education which spoils initiative; 
there is also education which arouses one to take initiative. 
There is education which makes one more resourceful, and 
which helps one to have the courage to try the new, to step out 
of the beaten road and to make a path that has not yet been 
tried and proven safe. Education must, among other things, 
develop the habit of taking the initiative. 

The basis for this initiative has already been intimated and 
it lies in the tendencies already formed in the nervous system. 
We found a few pages back that only the habitual associative 
tendencies could give us the ideas from which to choose in the 
most complicated kind of thinking. This with some feeling, 
impulse, courage, is the raw material of initiative. The pos- 
sibility of taking the initiative, of doing the new thing, lies in 



NEUROLOGY AND THE BASIS OF EDUCATION 35 

having a variety of things suggested by our associative pro- 
cesses; and the likelihood that we shall do this, lies in the 
habit of choosing from among them, of combining in a new 
way, of trying to make the impulse shoot through the new 
path. 

Education, in other words, must train us to various possi- 
bilities of response; along with these we must have formed the 
habit of thinking, reasoning, choosing, selecting, and then act- 
ing, and not of merely responding in a mechanical, reflex sort 
of way in either new or old situations. The continual forma- 
tion and modification of habits should help this rather than 
hinder it. They should predispose the individual so that he 
may tend to select in new and modified ways. 

Types of habits, habit and habtiude. We commonly think 
of habits as specific, and so hundreds and thousands of them 
are, such as the specific responses of the individual in any 
skilled act. But we must also admit what James has called 
"general forms of discharge, that seem to be grooved out by 
habit in the brain," such as the tendency of our emotions to 
evaporate, and of the attention to wander. Colvin has used 
the term "generalized habit," for those habits "which are com- 
mon to a number of different stimuli." Other writers use the 
terms "habitude" and "habitual attitude." 

Although we shall use the term habit, as our definition per- 
mits, to include this type of habitual tendency, it is most im- 
portant that we distinguish habitude from habit in the nar- 
rower sense. And this to which I refer is not a kind of habit 
whose development is correlated with a dropping out of con- 
sciousness. The development of habitudes, on the other hand, 
may actually demand definite conscious reflection where pre- 
viously there was none. Sully thus makes the distinction : In 
speaking of moral habitudes, he tells us how "The prevailing 
motive, for example, punctuality in fulfilling engagements, 
now passes into the form of a fixed inclination or active dis- 
position. Or, to express the result another way, we may say 
that conduct is brought more fully under the sway of a general 
rule or maxim. This result is what is known as a moral hab- 
itude. . . . The word habitude is here used to mark it off from 
'habit' in the narrow sense of mechanical response. In fol- 
lowing out a general maxim we never act mechanically as 

when we repeat a particular kind of action our actions 

may be organised into a certain number of persistent norms 
or types of conduct, as thrift, temperance, fulfilment of prom- 



36 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

ise and the like, they are not so uniform in their actual, con- 
crete combinations as to allow of our particular actions be- 
coming in the complete sense habitual. It may often require 
a good deal of reflexion before we can say what is the honest 
or the just course of action." (100). We may therefore say 
that while we commonly think of habits which lead to action, 
we have also habits which lead to thought. 

Habit in the narrow sense could never be the satisfactory 
end of education as Colvin well says, and further, as he tells 
us, we must seek in education "the disposition to learn new 
facts and acquire new habits." (15). 

As mentioned above, we shall for convenience use the term 
habit to include habitude, attitude, disposition, etc., and to in- 
dicate any strength or type of habit at all. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. How does a study of the nervous system help us to un- 
derstand the work of education? 

2. Show how habits, in the broadest sense of that term, 
make up the sum total of the results of education in the indi- 
vidual. Can you mention any exceptions? 

3. How is thinking dependent upon habit? 

4. What is the relation of habit to a valuable kind of origi- 
nality? 

5. How great is the danger of losing plasticity through the 
formation of habits? 

6. Do we need greater or less stability in our present social 
and industrial life? Cite examples to show the truth of your 
conclusion. 

7. If fixity and flexibility are both desirable can we have 
both at the same time in the individual? Why do you think 
we can or cannot? 

8. Make lists of desirable habits of different degrees of 
strength. 

9. Explain how some habits lead to a dropping out of con- 
sciousness and some require more conscious reflection. 

REFERENCES. 
B. R. Andrews. Habit. Am. J. Psychol. 14, 1903. Pp. 121-149. 
W. James. Talks to Teachers on Psychology. 1904, Ch. 8. 
W. James. Psychology, Briefer Course. Ch. 10. Or Principles of 
Psychology. Vol. 1, Ch. 4. 



Chapter 3. 
THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION. 

Habit is fundamental. In the preceding chapter we have 
shown how the formation, modification, and remaking of 
habits are the fundamental things that take place in the pro- 
cess of education in the individual. Whatever permanent 
changes occur, habits of some kind and of some degree of 
strength are the result. It is the duty of educators to see that 
the habits are desirable ones. It was also shown that the re- 
duction of the results of education to habit was fully compre- 
hensive and adequate. It is the purpose of the writer in the 
present chapter to show how the principle of habit formation 
and modification is the true principle underlying all advance- 
ment in learning, and how this principle, taken as a practical 
working theory, has certain advantages which teachers and 
students cannot afford to overlook. 

Habit is the basis of progress in education. In the first place, 
and, perhaps, most important, habit is the basis of all progress 
in education. As Professor Titchener tells us "Looking at life 
in the large, we may say that the period of training or educa- 
tion is a period of secondary attention, and that the following 
period of mastery and achievement is a period of derived 
primary attention. Looking at experience more in detail, we 
see that education itself consists, psychologically, in an alter- 
nation of the two attentions; habit is made the basis of further 
acquisition, and acquisition, gained with effort, passes in its 
turn into habit; the cycle returns, so long as the nervous sys- 
tem remains plastic." (113). 

In another place in the same book the author emphasizes 
the value of practice whose results are habits. The passage 
is too good to leave unquoted and its significance too great to 
overlook. "In psychological experiments," he writes, "the 
practised observer has a threefold superiority over the un- 
practised: his attitude to the stimuli, in successive observa- 
tions, is more nearly uniform; his attention is sustained at a 
higher level; and his discrimination is more refined. This 
means that the focal mental processes are few in number; that 
they are extremely vivid; and that they are protected by 

37 



38 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

strong inhibitory forces, against intrusion from the outside. 

Habit is, in general, the outcome of practice; if practice 

shows us a nervous set or disposition in the making, habit is 
the set taken, the disposition established; the plastic organ has 
hardened in some special way. Like practice, habit in its 
early stages requires attention; but it is to be noticed that a 
habit may be formed, not only by the repetition that practice 
brings, but also by any single stimulus that violently impress- 
es the nervous system; the plastic mechanism may be thrown, 
by a sudden wrench, into a new and permanent arrangement; 
just as we may give a permanent bend to a fencing foil by a 
single violent lunge. We have already seen, in our discussion 
of the development of attention (pp. 98-99), that habits al- 
ready formed are the basis of new acquisition; and we may 
remark in passing that the moral and practical importance of 
habit has often been written upon and can hardly be overes- 
timated." (114). 

Progress to higher stages of efficiency. Progress, if we look 
at the matter in the large, means breaking up one's present ef- 
ficiency in order to raise him to a higher stage of efficiency. 
More in detail, this means the modifying of old habits, of 
thinking, of feeling, and of acting, as well as the making of 
new ones. It means the improvement of methods. It in- 
cludes the raising of ideals and stimulating one to striving 
harder for the attaining of results in the direction of these 
ideals. Work must proceed on a higher level. 

Progress and modifying the old habits. The fact that old 
habits can be modified, that they are not unalterable, that they 
need not leave us unchangeable in our responses, is almost 
too well known in everyone's experience and observation to 
need mention. I know, for example, of a man who practised 
law until he was over fifty years of age and was then called to 
be head of a large university. According to his own state- 
ment, the first year called for the making of many new habits 
and the modifying of old habits so that the new work could go 
on in the same habitual way in which the law work had gone. 
But the changes were made and the new work was done later 
in the same easy habitual way as the law work had been done. 
We can all, no doubt, cite many examples of this kind of thing. 
A shift from one kind of position requires a great many new 
habits and the modifying of many old habits, — but, and here 
is the essential point, — the change can and does come. The 
old habits do not leave us merely fixed and hardened. The 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 39 

habits which are already made are the foundations for the 
necessary changes, without which the adaptation to the new 
kind of work would be even more difficult. 

A quotation from the study of typewriting will show how 
this change goes on in the process of learning. Professor 
Book, in his excellent monograph on The Psychology of Skill, 
writes as follows: "Besides determining the special habits of 
every kind and order involved in the mastery of typewriting 
and showing concretely, by a minute history of the learning 
process, how these habits were developed and perfected as 
successively organized and recombined into associations and 
habits that bring the learner always more directly and econ- 
omicallv to his goal, this study has shown the important role 
played in the learning by effort and hygiene. 

"Two facts stand out above all the rest: 1) All special habits 
and associations involved in the mastery of typewriting must 
be carefully perfected. 2) They must then as rapidly as pos- 
sible be outgrown and give way to higher and more direct 
habits of writing. Bryan and Harter were right when they 
said : 'We believe that by no device is it possible to gain free- 
dom in using the higher-order habits until the lower have 
been so well mastered that attention is not diverted by them.' 
They suggested a truth of still greater importance when they 
added : 'It is, nevertheless wise at all times to practise with the 
highest units possible, and thus learn all the units in their 
proper setting.' The older elementary habits tend naturally 
and strongly to persist and must be left behind as rapidly as 
possible to prevent arrest. To try to crowd ahead before the 
elementary habits are sufficiently mastered to make safe the 
taking of a forward step, or to fail to perfect the elemental as- 
sociations which must be combined to form the higher and 
more direct methods of writing, is fatal to progress or inter- 
est:' (10). 

Other points appear in the above quotation, but of interest 
in this connection are the facts that the fundamental things 
are habits, and that progress depends upon them. These hab- 
its can and must change, just as surely as they are necessary 
as foundation habits. 

Education and the development of permanent desires and 
interests. It cannot, perhaps, be too much emphasized that a 
part, and an essential part of the work of education is to de- 
velop permanent desires and interests. Not only to read good 
literature but to have a permanent interest in good literature. 



40 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Not only to be neat or accurate or careful when required, but 
to develop the desire to be neat, accurate, and careful. And 
not only to have the idea of these things, and the permanent 
desire to attain them, but to try to do so, in order that the de- 
sired educational result, i. e., the permanent tendency to think, 
feel, and do these things, may be accomplished, so far as pos- 
sible. These, also, are fundamental to progress. What would 
one accomplish without a passion for his work? This very 
lack of passion for work is the cause of much mediocre per- 
formance. 

Fundamental nature and comprehensiveness of the habit 
theory. If we look back over the facts brought out in the first 
chapter we will see that the theory has the advantage of bring- 
ing us to the fundamental elements of the learning process. 
Such a procedure cannot do other than help us to a better un- 
derstanding of education. One of the most common, and al- 
so, perhaps, one of the wisest pieces of advice given to begin- 
ners in whatever field it may be, is to start at the bottom and 
work up. Beginning with a study of the original inherited 
disposition, the native tendencies, and learning how to make 
them into the desirable thought, feeling and volitional dispo- 
sitions is doing just this thing in the field of education. 

As to the comprehensiveness of the principle it is not a 
small thing for the teacher to realize that all results of the 
learning process come only in conformance to the laws of 
habit formation. Wherever economy is to be had it is to be 
had only when there is conformance to these laws. Disregard 
of them and opposition to them cause unnecessary waste for 
both the student and the teacher. 

It gives definiteness to the work of the teacher. No one 
thing more than definiteness is needed in the school. And 
nothing more than the thorough application of the habit prin- 
ciple to all phases of education will help to this great end. 
The great aims of education whatever they are can be inter- 
preted in terms of habits. The methods of the teacher, the 
technique necessary for successful teaching, can be definitely 
worked out for the work of forming and modifying original 
nature so as to make the desirable permanent dispositions. 
In fact the more general statements of the aim and work of 
education can be dealt with in the school in no other way. To 
develop character, social efficiency, to prepare for enjoyment 
of life, to make one ready for one's vocation or profession can 
be done, but it cannot be done in general or in the abstract.. 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 41 

These results are big complex things and must be dealt with 
by dealing with the elements that constitute them. The ele- 
ments are thousands of habits. The habits are habits of 
thought, of feeling and of action. These the teacher can deal 
with definitely and can prepare himself to deal with. Think- 
ing, feeling, and doing this, and this and this, and in this way, 
and that way and the other way, is specifically and definitely 
what the teacher can deal with. And he can do it with the as- 
surance that this thinking and feeling and doing will deter- 
mine the general outcome. 

Habits result in character. There is nothing more true than 
that the definite bits of work and application that the teacher 
gets the student to do become the very texture of his life. Note 
what James says in this connection and note also that he 
speaks not merely of that which concerns skill or more mech- 
anical habitual things but of the most complex thought pro- 
cesses. 

"As we become permanent drunkards by so many separate 
drinks," he writes, "so we become saints in the moral, and 
authorities and experts in the practical and scientific spheres, 
by so many separate acts and hours of work. Let no youth 
have any anxiety about the upshot of his education, whatever 
the line of it may be. If he keep faithfully busy each hour of 
the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. 
He can with perfect certainty count on waking up some fine 
morning, to find himself one of the competent ones of his 
generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out. 
Silently, between all the details of his business, the power of 
judging in all that class of matter will have built itself up with- 
in him as a possession that will never pass away. Young 
people should know this truth in advance. The ignorance of 
it has probably engendered more discouragement and faint- 
heartedness in youths embarking on arduous careers than all 
other causes put together." (40). 

And it may be said also that for the teacher, much of his 
work has been indefinite, and without sufficient knowledge 
and understanding of aim and method and results. With a 
proper understanding of these elements with which he is dent- 
ing he should be better able to attain that which is the greatest 
need in education today, namely, definiteness of aim and pro- 
cedure, and in the getting of end results that can be measured. 
The general aims are thus analyzed into definite working 
aims. 



42 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

It gives the basis for scientific treatment and measurement. 
This treatment of the results of education also gives the ele- 
ments that can be dealt with in a scientific manner. All that 
can be measured and all that is being measured by education- 
al tests is behavior, and habits are the stuff of which behavior 
is made. It may be that some of the higher moral and aesthe- 
tic attitudes cannot be measured, or at least, that they cannot 
be measured in the same way that intellectual and motor 
habits of many kinds can. Difficulty with some of the more 
elusive results is no reason to fail with the quantitative treat- 
ment of the results that can be measured. 

Looking over the results of some of the school surveys that 
have been made one may see how often this quantitative treat- 
ment has helped to point out the places where particular qual- 
itative defects appear in the work of certain teachers. The 
quantitative work, does not, then, in any way, take the place 
of, or displace qualitative work. It supplements it and it is 
the direct scientific way of getting at the places where quality 
of work is poor. The teacher will find that such a study of all 
the work of teachers in a school will be much more just to each 
one than the old method of making personal judgments. 

It reduces all education to the same terms. Whatever of 
value comes from a fundamental principle and reducing of 
large and various activities to the same terms appears in the 
reducing of the results of education to habits. There is here 
a unifying principle. The teacher should be helped to see the 
far reaching significance of the fundamental laws of habit for 
all his work. There should come a much greater simplifica- 
tion of many complex matters and more clarity in the under- 
standing of them. The interpretation of all education in 
terms of habit should help the teacher to avoid many of the 
violations of the laws of habit that are all too common in the 
schools of today. 

Psychological factors necessary to habit formation. The 
emphasis of these factors is more significant than may at first 
appear. We cannot merely look at end results. We cannot 
merely think of stimuli and responses. Successful direction 
of habit formation requires a knowledge of the conscious fac- 
tors, the intellectual and emotional factors that enter in prac- 
tice. The presence of ideals, knowledge of successes and fail- 
ures, intention to remember, attitude of the learner, determin- 
ation, knowledge of what to do and how to do it, etc., all are 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 43 

important in the economy of learning. Later pages will show 
how these and kindred factors are all important. 

Manifold nature of the teachers work. A further advan- 
tage of this habit theory of education, emphasizing as it does, 
the various kinds of habits to be formed, lies in its pointing 
out clearly the manifold nature of the teacher's work. If the 
teaching is merely informational, instructional, it is inade- 
quate, as this type of teaching deals only or at least for the 
most part, with the habits of thought. There must also be the 
inspirational, the arousing, the stimulating, for the purpose of 
developing the feeling habits, and habitudes. And, finally* 
there must be such instructing and arousing as will result in 
the motor conclusion, the tendency to act appropriately in the 
various situations for which education succeeds in preparing 
the individual. 

Other aims of education included and refined. This view 
of education also includes and makes definite the various aims 
of education with which we are familiar. Adaptation, social 
efficiency, the formation of character, etc. These aims are ta 
be attained through the formation of the appropriate habits. 
Adaptation comes only through the forming and modifying 
of habits. Whatever efficiency one has is the result of prac- 
tice, and the outcome of practice is nothing more nor less than 
habit. 

The principle is true for the highest results at which educa- 
tion can aim. Sully long ago emphasized the place of habit 
in moral character, and we can perhaps, do no better than to 
quote a few sentences from his pages concerning moral char- 
acter and the education of the will. "The height of moral 
character," he writes, "attained in any case is thus determined 
by the fixity and the commanding influence of the virtuous 
disposition, which again is measurable in terms of the facility, 
or absence of conscious effort, of the controlling process." 
(101). 

This he writes under the caption of "Character as organized 
Habit." On the education of the will, he writes, "As we have 
seen in dealing with the several forms of self-control, and 
more especially with the phenomena of moral effort, the spe- 
cial direction of attention to an idea serves to modify its feel- 
ing-value, and so its motive force. Education of will, in the 
sense of developing one's character, turns on this fact. If only 
a desire to be better exists we can ourselves contribute towards 
the improvement by furthering from time to time the rein- 



44 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

statement of the appropriate motives so as to fix them as dom- 
inant forces. (102). 

Disadvantages of the term habit. The term habit in too 
many minds suggests only the narrow mechanical action of 
the individual. The tsrm habit does include those activities 
which have been made habitual to the highest degree, activi- 
ties which are often called automatic. But habit rightly un- 
derstood means just what the term is used to mean, from the 
automatic activities in the motor realm to the professional at- 
titudes and moral habitudes. Bagley speaks of "a new habit 
of psychological observation," and of "specific habits of clean- 
liness, industry, and mental application." Andrews, in an ex- 
cellent article in The American Journal of Psychology defines 
habit and gives as his first illustration the "attitude of 'loyalty 
to Alma Mater.' The habit, strictly speaking, he writes, "is 
the similar form as regards feeling which consciousness re- 
peatedly takes." In a later place he quotes the following from 
James : ' "It is not simply particular lines of discharge, but 
general forms of discharge that are grooved out by habit in 
the brain.' " The disadvantage in terms exists, however, 
though many quotations of this kind might be made to show 
that common usage of the term includes this broader mean- 
ing. 

Judgments, ideas and habits. The teacher finds one of the 
most important and most difficult parts of his work is that of 
getting the student to think, to form correct judgments, to deal 
with ideas instead of mere words. It may be that if the school 
gave more material for thought and more of live incentive and 
Drought more of the kind of appeal to thought and the kind of 
reward for thinking that life normally affords when people 
outside of school actually think, it would not be so disappoint- 
ing a matter. The writer has seen the school room made 
lively with keen critical thinking and has seen teachers whose 
pupils could not have failed to catch some of the stimulus to 
more careful and correct thinking. Such stimulus and prac- 
tice cannot fail to make desirable tendencies or habits in the 
field of thought. 

The tendency to have certain ideas or forms of thought are 
not, of course, the ideas or thoughts. Habits of thought are 
the tendencies to think more or less as one has thought before, 
and we have already shown how even the most complex think- 
ing depends at bottom on the laws of habit. Helping the 
student to think and reason is dealt with in a later chapter. 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 45 

The whole emphasis of the book is toward the realization that 
if the thinking, the having of ideas, as well as of all other ex- 
periences of the learner is to be of value, there must be some 
permanent dispositions as a result. 

Ideals, the guiding influence of education. We have al- 
ready suggested that ideals are the things which should be the 
great guides for the accomplishment of results in education. 
Education we defined as the making, modifying, and remak- 
ing of more or less permanent dispositions, tendencies, habi- 
tudes, or, to use a single term, habits, under the guidance of 
ideals. As habit is the fundamental principle of education, 
so the determining of these habits in the directions of ideals is 
the guiding principle. The history of education is the history 
of how educators have tried to make ideals function in the 
lives of people and to bring about permanent educational pos- 
sessions in terms of ideals. The importance of ideals can 
hardly be overestimated and the necessity for the best ideals 
surely cannot. 

The following true story is a suggestion of what ideals mean 
in life. What they mean for the individual they mean for so- 
ciety. What they mean for society they mean for the whole 
world. Let the reader look to history and decide for himself 
how far the ideals of people or of individuals might be taken 
as true indication of what they shall be and do. 

Ideals and achievement. "Success," said the master instru- 
ment maker of the world, "is having an ideal and living up to 
it as closely as one can." Last November, some of the leading 
men of the country gathered to celebrate the seventy-fifth 
birthday of the man who made the statement quoted above. 
"Uncle John" Brashear for twenty-one years worked for ten 
hours a day in the South Side Mills of Pittsburgh. After sup- 
per, in a little shop built by himself and wife with their own 
hands, he made astronomical instruments which are consider- 
ed the best that man has produced. His first lens took three 
years to finish. The second lens took two years more and 
broke before it was finished. Dismayed at first, a word from 
his wife gave him new courage, and together they set out to 
make a larger and better lens than either of the others. After 
twenty-one years in the rolling mill he was free to give all of 
his time to the interest of his life, which was to make the best 
instruments possible by which people could study the stars. 

The most difficult problems in instrument making have been 
given him. When Professor Michelson needed optical sur- 



46 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

faces that nowhere showed an error as great as one-millionth 
of an inch he asked Brashear to make them, and he made 
them. When the Canadian Government decided to have the 
largest telescope in the world they turned to Brashear. In re- 
turn for a kindness which Professor Tyndall did him, the in- 
strument maker sent him two planes and a ruled grating on 
which he had scratched lines so fine that they were sixty to 
the breadth of a human hair. 

Dr. Brashear says : "If there is anything in my life uncom- 
mon it is because from the time I was a boy, no matter what I 
had to do, I tried to do it a little better than it had ever been 
done before." But Charles S. Schwab writes : "It seems to me 
that of all men of fame and achievement I have known, he is 

the most wonderful, I have known him at times to get so 

interested in the struggle for perfection that he would turn 
out an instrument which in the making cost several times its 
selling price." 

Ideals as permanent motives in life. What greater work 
can the teacher do than to develop ideals which shall function 
powerfully as motives? Note the essential factors which ap- 
pear in the above example. On the one hand was the habitu- 
al thinking of perfection, on the other the permanent desire 
to make things a little better than they had ever been made 
before. Added to this was the constant effort to attain this 
perfection. So education must most vitally concern itself 
with ideals. It must do so by developing a tendency to think 
the ideal something, neatness, perfection, or what not, to feel 
for this thing and to have the habitual desire for it, and, also, 
to stimulate one to act in connection with this ideal so that the 
disposition to strive towards it becomes the habit of life. (8) . 

The controlling principle of education. If the ideals of per- 
fection and completeness in achievement, for example, in ob- 
servation, memorization, in attainment of most valuable inter- 
ests and sentiments, and in the mastery of skill and execution, 
— the standards in attainment in each and every bit of learn- 
ing should be those which are reasonably and psychologically 
possible. The striving towards the ideals should reach cer- 
tain standards at certain stages of education; thus standards 
should be the controlling principle of education. 

So the ideal may remain ever so high and unattainable, — if 
they are attainable they are not high enough; — but the stand- 
ards must be determined by the physical and mental consti- 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 47 

tution of the student. For each individual let us say: We 
will try to educate him to his best, not some one else's best. 

Curriculum based on activities which result in habits. Pro- 
fessor Meriam, among others, has brought to our notice late- 
ly the very important fact that grade school pupils may be 
prepared for high school as well, and in some cases better, 
without ordinary teaching of arithmetic, reading, writing and 
spelling. The students in The University Elementary School 
of the University of Missouri, pursue four "studies." They 
are, 1) Observation of nature and industrial activities, 2) 
Playing games of present interest, 3) Handwork: making 
things of immediate usefulness, 4) Enjoyment of stories, pic- 
tures, music. 

"Reading, writing, arithmetic and other such 'common 
branches' are not taught as such at all. The content of such 
branches is used only as needed in one or more of the four 
studies constituting the curriculum of this school. This does 
not mean that pupils in this school do not learn to 'read, write 
or cipher.' It does mean, however, that proficiency in these 
common school studies is made subordinate, as a purpose, to 
proficiency in 'Observation,' 'Play,' 'Handwork,' and 'Enjoy- 
ment of Stories.' Thus it might be rightly claimed that the 
work of this school should be measured, not in terms of school 
subjects, but in terms of the out-of-school activities of the 
pupils." (64). 

The point is that activities that children will be required to 
do can be chosen and the habits involved in these activities de- 
veloped. The resulting proficiency can be measured. If the 
habits to be formed can be chosen the teacher has a definite 
work to do. And the performance of the pupil in the expres- 
sion of these habits is as definite an end product to measure as 
is possible in human beings. 

In other schools the same emphasis on activity and the di- 
rection of activity instead of on content and information has 
been made. Notable among them are The Andover Play 
School, (48), The California Play Demonstration School, (31), 
and The Worcester Girls' Trade School, (83). Jones in his 
excellent monograph on "Training in Education" gives an out- 
line of the principle features of these systems, (49), and says: 
"Activity liberates reflexes involved in instincts, thus making 
possible the formation of Habits, of learning and forgetting 
through the operation of the factors and laws discussed pre- 
viously. As pointed out and emphasized by almost every 



48 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

great educator and implied in the great systems of education, 
activity is the real basis of education." (50), 

Kinds of habits to be formed. Finally we may indicate in 
general summary some of the most important kinds of habits 
that are to be formed. They are given under the heads of 
intellectual, emotional and motor. This classification helps 
to show from one point of view, the different kinds of work 
the teacher has to do as already mentioned. 

I. Intellectual. 

1. Habits of observing carefully and accurately. 

2. Habits of clear and accurate association and recall; 
memorial habits, or memories. 

3. Habits of forming new concepts and of refining and 
correcting old ones. 

4. Habits of making clear, accurate, logical judgments. 

5. Habits of thinking over, meditating upon, rehears- 
ing, and thinking out old ideas and conclusions, 
from new points of view, for productive thought, 

i. e., originality. 

6. Habits of good attention. 

II. Emotional. 

1. Permanent interests, in science, literature, art, gov- 
ernment, etc., as for example, a passion for science. 

2. Emotional attitudes, desires, and the like, which may 
develop into such things as, logical sentiments or de- 
sire for truth, ethical sentiments or desire for the 
highest good, aesthetic sentiments or desire for the 
beautiful, religious sentiments. Dislikes on the 
other hand, for things that are unworthy, immoral, 

etc. Under this head we may include "habitudes." 

III. Motor habits. 

1. Habits of quick and appropriate action following 
upon the appropriate stimulus, or upon deliberation 
and decision. 

2. Habits of decision. 

3. Particular habits of skill or technique, as those of 
writing, handling apparatus, using tools, etc. 

Generalized habits and the habit of generalizing and apply- 
ing. Habits are both specific and general. The habits men- 
tioned above must be acquired in connection with certain ac- 
tivities and result in the easier, more economical doing of the 
things learned. But habits may be generalized or general; 
that is, they may act from the arousal of different stimuli than 



THE FUNDAMENTAL WORK OF EDUCATION 49 

those which originally aroused them, or they may act under 
the dominance of different emotional states. There may also 
be the habit of applying what is learned, of trying to make it 
help in other fields than that in which the habit was acquired. 
These may include the results of education which are called 
"transfers of training," and it is possible that all transfers may 
be reduced to the transfer of habits, under favorable condi- 
tions, e. g., presence of ideals, realizations of value, desire and 
attempt to make applications, etc. In other words, transfer 
of training, which refers to improvement in one activity which 
is correlated with improvement in another or other activities, 
may at bottom be habits learned in one situation which are 
set into action by stimuli different from those which originally 
started the habit. 

Education as habit under the guidance of ideals and the 
control of standards. Education, reduces, then, to the forma- 
tion of habits including habitudes and the modifications of 
those already formed. It means the remaking of the individ- 
ual. This process goes on under the guidance of ideals and 
the control of standards. Society must determine what these 
ideals shall be. Educators must determine the standards. 
The pressure upon the learner to acquire the necessary edu- 
cation, i. e., the necessary habits, may come from without him- 
self, or the ideals may be accepted and a motive force arise 
within him to drive him on to attainment. Both of these 
things occur: society, in the persons of parent and teacher, 
and the demands of others, and ideals attained in the course 
of development in the individual all play their part. 

The native tendencies are the means of bringing about ac- 
tions or responses. Acquisitions take place in various ways. 
Progress in this acquisition and the permanence of this acqui- 
sition follow. Various physiological and physical conditions 
enter to help or to hinder the development. Training in one 
thing may improve other activities. And finally suggestions 
and rules for the direction of the learner in the most economic 
acquisition may be given. These things will be treated in the 
following chapters. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Show how habit is basic for education and for progress 
in learning. 

2. How far are habits already formed modifiable? 



50 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

3. Is it necessary to form habits and then modify them in 
learning? Illustrate. 

4. Discuss the advantages of interpreting education in 
terms of the principle of habit? 

5. How may this be disadvantageous, especially, so far as 
the use of the term "habit" is concerned? 

6. From what you have learned in the last two chapters 
discuss the meaning and truth of the following statement "An 
acquired habit, from the physiological point of view, is noth- 
ing but a new pathway of discharge formed in the brain, by 
which certain incoming currents ever after tend to escape 
.... the association of ideas, perception, memory, reasoning, 
the education of the will, etc., etc., can best be understood as 
results of the formation de novo of just such pathways of dis- 
charge." W. James. 

7. What is the teacher's work in terms of habit formation? 

8. Find illustrations to show the effect of ideals in individ- 
uals and in groups. 

9. To what extent have educators in various ages con- 
sciously concerned themselves with ideals? 

10. State and discuss what you think should be the con- 
trolling principle of education. 

REFERENCES. 

Andrews, B. R. Habit. Am. J. Psychol. 14, 1903, Pp. 121-149. 

James, W. Psychology, Briefer Courses. Ch. 10. Or, Principles of 
Psychology, Vol.' 1, Ch. 4. Also, Talks to Teachers on Psychology, 
1904, Ch. 8. 

Radestock, P. Habit and Education. D. C. Heath and Co., 1902, 
P. 117. 



Chapter 4. 
LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION. 

Life and habit formation. Life goes on mostly through 
habit; and any progress beyond the slow laborious doing of 
things as one does when learning how to do them, depends, if 
we except reflex and instinct, absolutely upon habit. More- 
over this learning as we have already shown, depends on pre- 
vious acquisitions which have become habits. If we think of 
the nervous system this means that the higher centers are con- 
cerned with the new, the problematic, the difficult, that which 
has not yet been mastered. As soon as this learning becomes 
sufficiently habitual, the lower centers take up the activities, 
as far as they can, bring about the performances, and at the 
same time relieve the higher centers. The higher centers can 
now concern themselves with the next new problem. It is 
not to be understood that only the lower centers act accord- 
ing to this law of habit. The higher centers, the brain, also 
must be considered as taking the 'sets' which practice gives 
them. Progress in learning shows the presence of activity 
with attention at first, changing into activity which is habitual; 
again attention appears, but to something new, what has been 
learned sufficiently well being carried on by habit. In this 
way all progress is made in skill, in memorizing, in mastering 
all of the reactions to our world. 

We have said that the results of education are nothing more 
than habits of some kind, i. e., more or less permanent dispo- 
sitions, tendencies, interests, habitudes and the like. The im- 
portant thing is that the habits be good rather than bad habits; 
that they be helpful rather than harmful; that the nervous 
system be trained to react as we want it to act. 

The need for habits. The need for habits is coextensive 
with the need for education. Progress is dependent upon ac- 
quisition which has become habitual. Efficiency, mastery, 
competency in anything whatsoever, exist only insofar as they 
are made possible by the necessary groups of well formed and 
well organized habits. The need for and the value of habits 
may be shown by a statement of the results of habit formation. 

The effects of habit. The effects of habit may be summed 

51 



52 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

up as follows : it brings perfection and accuracy of action, les- 
sens fatigue and strain, insures an increasing degree of 
promptness and certainty of response, and gradually elimin- 
ates things to which one must give attention. The scope of 
one's response is thus greatly enlarged, and the time in which 
one can successfully and comfortably carry on activities 
which have been made habitual is very much lengthened. 
Judgments and actions are better and quicker; and one can 
respond to more and more complex situations. 

Habits tend, within limits, to make people do the same 
things in the same way; stick to the same trade or profession; 
like the same kind of music; turn to the old familiar authors, 
want the old coat and wear the new clothes in the old way; 
think things are right because they have done them for years, 
or wrong because they have never done them; fall back on the 
old interpretations; cling to the old beliefs; in short, be and 
feel and do the same things in the same way. It gives a stab- 
ility to the individual and to society. 

Habits of the broadest kind, or "habitudes," it must be re- 
membered, have a different result. They tend to make people 
respond in terms of ideals, motives, maxims, and the like, and 
require judgment, and conscious reflection. Here one is made 
more rather than less conscious. 

Strong guiding influence of habit. Little do we realize, per- 
haps, the fact that habit once made determines what we shall 
do even in cases in which our conscious processes would indi- 
cate some other behavior. No better statement of this matter 
can be found than that of Prof. Titchener, who writes : "Now 
the important point in the present connection is this: that the 
side which finally proves to be the stronger, in the struggle of 
secondary attention, need not necessarily be the consciously 
stronger. The conflict between working and going to the fire 
may lead to a victory for work, in spite of the fact that con- 
siousness is more fully occupied by fire-ideas than it is by 
work-ideas. The nervous system, in virtue of its own bias or 
leaning, has brought up further reinforcements on the side of 
work, and these reinforcements have directed or guided con- 
sciousness although they are not themselves represented in 
consciousness." 

"The guiding influence of nervous bias is not a matter of in- 
ference, still less a matter of speculation; it can be demons- 
traded in the psychological laboratory. Suppose that we are 
measuring the time required to reply to a spoken word by an- 



LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION 53 

other word of the same class or kind : to associate dog to cat, 
table to chair, and so on. The experimenter prepares a long 
list of words: cat, chair, and so forth. Then he explains to 
the observer the precise nature of the experiment: I shall call 
out certain words, he says, and you are to reply, as quickly as 
you can, with words of the same class; if I say horse, you will 
mention some other animal, and if I say pen, you will mention 
something else that has to do with writing. The observer un- 
derstands, and the experiment begins. Suppose, further, that 
the experiments have been continued for some days. The ex- 
perimenter has no need to repeat his explanation at every sit- 
ting; the observer takes it for granted that he is still to reply 
with a coordinate word. And suppose, finally, that some day, 
after a week's work, the experimenter interrupts the series, 
and asks: Are you thinking about what I told you to do? The 
observer, fearing that he has made some error, and feeling 
very repentent, will say: No, to tell the truth I had absolutely 
forgotten all about it; it had gone altogether out of my mind; 
have I done anything wrong? He had not done anything 
wrong; but his answer shows that a certain tendency, impress- 
ed upon his nervous system by the experimenter's original ex- 
planation, has been effective to direct the course of his ideas 
long after its conscious correlate has disappeared. And what 
happens here, in the laboratory, happens every day of our 
lives in the wider experience outside the laboratory." (118). 

Importance of early training. For the determination of our 
future life, our future thinking, liking, disliking, ability to do 
and ways of doing, nothing so much as the understanding of 
habit, makes one realize the importance of doing early what 
one desires to do later. Competency, efficiency, mastery, are 
the results of continual and regular practice. The point is 
that regular application brings inevitable results in whatever 
field it may be: in the making of judgments in the fields of 
law, or science, or business; in acquiring appreciation in the 
field of art, or of music, or of literature: in drawing, or in 
playing a musical instrument, or in anything else of which one 
can think. 

These habits of feeling, of thinking and of acting arc the 
things we fall back on in the emergencies of life, and they arc 
what carry us through successfullv if we come through suc- 
cessfully at all. Even the original thinking in the novel sit- 
uations, depend, as already shown, upon the habits of thought. 
Or, to put it differently, for example, we rightly expect that the 



54 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

difficult problems will be solved better and more surely, not 
by one who has newly entered the field of thought in which 
the problem occurs, but by one who has worked in this field, 
who has solved problems and become familiar with all this 
kind of facts, who, in other words, has formed his habits of 
thinking in this field and whose judgments are, in proportion 
to his mastery of the field, liable to be sure and right. 

Knowing this, one knows, not the royal road, but what might 
perhaps be called the real stairway to efficiency or better to 
mastery of his chosen field or portion thereof. The analogy 
of the stairway is significant. It should suggest two facts, 
first, that there are habits dependent on others made earlier, 
and second, and partly for this reason, that habits should be 
fully made. Many habits are made easily, some with a single 
performance if they are simple and easy and pleasant, or if 
the experience is very vivid; but it is obvious that there are 
many desirable habits which are complex and not so pleasant 
and which do not make themselves, so to speak. The hit or 
miss method of learning, imitation of which one is conscious, 
or imitation of which one is not conscious, are sufficient for 
many of the former kind of habits; but for the more difficult 
ones there are many conditions of which the teacher and the 
student should be conscious, many helps to the formation of 
habits of which they should be able to take advantage; many 
hindrances which they should be able either to avoid or to 
render less effective. 

PRINCIPLES OF HABIT FORMATION. 

1. Learning correctly. That "we learn to do by doing" is 
true. That we learn to do incorrectly by doing incorrectly is 
part of this truth. Above everything else, the student must fol- 
low another precept: "learn to do by doing correctly." Re- 
peat but repeat only correct actions. The selection of the cor- 
rect response is essential. Anything that is once learned is 
never entirely unlearned; that is to say, anything once made a 
part of the nervous system is never entirely wiped out. Anyone 
can pick out many incorrect habits that are a part of him. The 
spelling of a certain word was learned incorrectly; the finger 
learned to hit the wrong key on the typewriter; the wrong 
form of speech or the incorrect pronunciation crept in and be- 
came habitual; then there was the attempt to unlearn and re- 
learn. Who does not keenly realize the difficulty? Unlearn- 
ing and relearning harder than the original learning! Yes, 
but more than that, the original learning is never entirely un- 



LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION 55 

learned. The new habit may be learned. The old habit may 
be submerged a good part of the time, or may grow weaker 
from disuse. But when one is in a hurry, or is striving the 
hardest for a perfect performance, out comes the old incor- 
rect response. We hit the wrong key on the typewriter, or 
make the same grammatical error. With an understanding 
of the facts of habit, the conclusion is obvious: learn correct- 
ly the first time, never let anything incorrect become habitual. 
Never practise unless you practise correctly and thoroughly; 
bad practice is worse than no practice; the pianist, the singer, 
the billiard player, the expert in any line comes to learn this 
sooner or later. 

2. Accuracy first, speed later. As a corollary of what has 
just been said it follows that accuracy should be worked for 
first and that speed should be left till later. Without doubt 
this is a principle which should govern all kinds of learning. 
The fastest way to progress is to go slowly at first. Speed will 
come. And the demand and pressure of circumstances can 
generally be expected to accomplish this. I have frequently 
stated this general principle to teachers and have had nothing 
but concurrence in the matter from them. 

3. Strong and decided initiative. (41). As has been often 
said, in the forming of a habit, we should launch ourselves 
with as strong and decided an initiative as possible. The start 
is very important. Success helps to further success. Failure 
may dishearten. 

4. Continuity of practice. "Continuity of training," James 
says, "is the great means of making the nervous system act in- 
fallibly right." Never to permit an exception till the habit 
is fully formed is the rule. Exceptions undo much that has 
been done. They even start another habit; the habit of mak- 
ing exceptions. The more difficult the habit, the more im- 
portant that an exception does not occur; because this makes 
it easier to fall into the way of letting them occur. 

5. Use of every opportunity. The same author adds the 
following maxim: "Seize the very first opportunity to act on 
every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompt- 
ing you may experience in the direction of the habits you as- 
pire to gain. It is not in the moment of their forming, but in 
the moment of their producing motor effects, that resolves and 
aspirations communicate the new 'set' to the brain.' ' 

6. Caring enough and determination. If a person only 
cares enough, he is likely to succeed in forming the habit he 



56 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

sets out to make. What we care enough for we generally find 
time for, and find a way to do. It is just the not caring enough 
that is as likely as anything to be the weak place. Closely re- 
lated to this is determination; let one be determined, his mind 
be fully made up, as the phrase goes, and he has one of the 
best helps. Internally one needs this whole hearted giving of 
one's self to the task of habit making if the habit be difficult 
and unpleasant. Caring enough, a deep thorough-going de- 
sire for the habit, determination, high resolve, and then throw- 
ing one's self into the doing, — these are invaluable internal 
aids. 

7. A clear plan. One is more likely to do a thing if he 
knows exactly what to do and how to do it. If the method of 
doing, the way to start in, the order of sequence, or what not, 
are still in question, it takes more effort to hold to the thing. 
A clear plan eliminates many difficulties, and hesitations, and 
decisions to put off until another time. 

8. Realization of value. Another internal help is the real- 
ization of the value of the habit, if it be once formed. Know- 
ing what one can accomplish with this skill; what can be at- 
tained with that combination of habits; how certain acquisi- 
tions can be applied in bettering one's position, or salary, 
makes one of the strongest incentives. As an illustration of 
this, note the change in attitude and efforts of students when 
they come to find that certain subjects will be of practical 
value to them, e. g., professional students, who are getting the 
things which mean entering into and succeeding in their pro- 
fessions. 

9. Success and the feeling of success; mastery and the feel- 
ing of mastery. One needs to succeed, to master something, 
and to learn the difference it makes in the whole mental life 
and attitude of the individual. One is a different person when 
he has mastered something and has the feeling of success and, 
better, the feeling of mastery. Move slowly and surely to- 
towards success and towards mastering your desired habits, 
and every bit of success and the feeling of all earlier successes 
will help you. 

10. Suggestion. Suggestion helps in various ways. You 
may have the suggestion of people. People who are accomp- 
lishing things, who are doing what you want to do, who are 
enthusiastic, and who keep you in the general atmosphere of 
doing and succeeding, are by all means valuable to one who is 
trying to form difficult habits. 



LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION 57 

Suggestion also helps when it lies in objects, and places, and 
the like. The library, the gymnasium, the study room, the 
laboratory, all are suggestions, and where work is being done 
and studying is going on, it is easier to work or to study as the 
case may be. 

11. Publishing intentions. Telling a friend or a few good 
friends that you are going to form a certain habit may bring 
the strongest pressure to bear. If the friends are of the right 
kind they will see that you are reminded of your resolution; 
if you fail you will be joked about it; whatever happens, you 
will either succeed or fail, not only in your own knowledge, 
but in the eyes of your friends. This has been found to help 
where everything else has failed. 

12. Penalties. If one can enforce a penalty or get someone 
else to enforce a penalty for him he may find that he has a 
very helpful incentive. But the penalty must be a real one. 
Putting a dime in a box for each failure and having in the 
background of mind the idea that when you get enough you 
will spend it for a box of candy or a theatre is not a penalty. 
There must be an actual felt loss to yourself. If you pay for 
every failure, the money in the end must be lost to you entire- 
ly. Perhaps the best kind of a penalty is the removal of some 
privilege. It presses hard on one to find himself deprived of 
something which he really desires and to which he is accus- 
tomed. 

13. Putting one's self on honor. If t it seems necessary, put- 
ting one's self on honor, will often help. But one should never 
do this unless he endeavors in every possible way to succeed. 
Failing when one has appealed to this kind of a last resort is 
a serious affair. 

14. Thoroughness. Habits should be completely formed. 
Habits are the bases of later acquisitions and for that reason 
if for no other they should be fully made. A partially formed 
habit fails to bring the results that habits are known to bring, 
and which we have mentioned above. Neither is there the 
permanence that goes with the fully made habit. Perhaps the 
largest part of the difficulty with most of our learning lies in 
the fact that previous acquisitions have not been sufficiently 
well learned. The promptness and accuracy which some 
people show in learning new things, in solving new problems, 
in applying old knowledge, lies very largely, if not almost 
wholly, except for native capacity, in the fact that the earlier 
acquisitions were thoroughly made. Getting over the ground, 



58 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

getting through, is not making the most valuable and perma- 
nent progress. 

HINDRANCES TO HABIT FORMATION. 

1. Not caring enough. Some of the things that we have 
called helps to habit formation may be lacking, and a lack of 
the sincere desire is one of the most serious handicaps. Many 
things in this life are not done simply because we do not care. 
If the stimulating suggestion only happened along, or we fell 
upon the right biographical sketch, or had one of the "calico 
wives" that make "broadcloth husbands!" Perhaps we would 
not settle down comfortably and say, "What's the use?" 

2. Laziness. Human beings, like inanimate objects, are 
subject to the law of inertia. Laziness may be merely a mat- 
ter of habit. Again failure to rise and make necessary efforts 
may be simply that the incentives, the things that stir one up 
are lacking. 

3. Lack of incentive. This lack of incentive may well be 
emphasized. A word from a friend, a suggestion from a news- 
paper, or a journal, a smile of reproach may be all that is 
necessary to arouse one to the most strenuous efforts. If the 
incentive does not come and if one is not too lazy, he may find 
the former with a little effort and be a winner instead of a 
loser. 

4. Other habits. Old habits are the basis upon which new 
acquisitions are made. But it is also true that some old habits 
interfere with the formation of some new habits. Where the 
new act opposes the habitual acts, the old tendencies make the 
acquisition difficult. This is all the more true where one has 
to break an old habit or substitute a new for an old one. 

5. Difficulty and complexity. The habit itself may be dif- 
ficult. Progress in the formation of habits leads one to more 
and more complex and difficult problems. The advance that 
one makes renders it easier to do what has already been made 
habitual, but succeeding steps are naturally harder and dis- 
couragement may creep in. 

6. Unpleasantness. When a thins? is to be done, it is likely 
that the best thing one can do is to forget one's feelings and 
think of the thing to be done. Old things are pleasant and 
new things are likely to he unpleasant if they require effort. 
We have, at least, to cope with that biological tendency that 
leads us to avoid the unpleasant. 

7. The pressure of time and other things. We fail to take 



LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION 59 

Tup the formation of many new habits because we have too 
many other things to do. It is the old story: I haven't time; 
I'm too busy; I can't get time now to do half the things I want 
to do. Time is short when we are doing things. When we 
are really busy we have not time for half of the worth while 
things. It is a question of choosing; but if we really care 
enough, and if the new habit is sufficiently valuable, the prob- 
ability is that at least most of us can find time. 

8. The tendency to feel without acting. One of the most 
insidious evils of life lies in this habit of feeling, of having a 
line impulse or sentiment, and then letting the tendency fritter 
off without coming to any motor consequence. Instead of 
forming the desirable habits of acting in accordance with our 
line feelings, we actually form habits of merely enjoying the 
thrill and then, likely enough, of looking for the next thrill. 
James tells us that "Every time a resolve or a fine glow of 
feeling evaporates without bearing practical fruit is worse 
than a chance lost; it works so as positively to hinder future 
resolutions and emotions from taking the normal path of dis- 
charge. There is no more contemptible type of human char- 
acter than that of the nerveless sentimentalist and dreamer, 
who spends his life in a weltering sea of sensibility and emo- 
tion, but who never does a manly concrete deed. 

The habit of excessive novel-reading and theatre-going will 
produce true monsters in this line. The weeping of a Rus- 
sian lady over the fictitious personages in the play, while her 
coachman is freezing to death on his seat outside, is the sort 
of thing that everywhere happens on a less glaring scale. 
Even the habit of excessive indulgence in music, for those who 
are neither performers themselves nor musically gifted enough 
to take it in a purely intellectual way, has probably a relaxing 
effect upon the character. One becomes filled with emotions 
which habitually pass without prompting to any deed, and so 
the inertly sentimental condition is kept up. The remedy 
would be, never to suffer one's self to have an emotion at a 
concert, without expressing it afterward in some active way. 
Let the expression be the least thing in the world — speaking 
genially to one's aunt, or giving up one's seat in a horse-car, 
if nothing more heroic offers — but let it not fail to take place." 
(38). 

9. The incomplete learning of other habits. Although 
treated in another place, it is appropriate here to mention the 
fact that incomplete learning of foundation habits interferes 



60 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

with future learning. Whereas one's attention should be free 
to deal with the new habit that is to be formed, this incom- 
plete learning necessitates giving attention to direct the old 
actions. This is a serious interference and is to be obviated 
by complete learning of one thing before going on to the next. 

BREAKING OLD HABITS. 

1. Never permit the old habit to function. If possible, and 
if the consequences are not too severe on the individual, the 
best thing is to discontinue the old habit at once and complete- 
ly. This may be extremely difficult and one may need all the 
determination, and purpose, and desire for the death of the 
old habit that is possible. 'Tapering off' is a makeshift which 
may be necessary. But after all it is probably only in very 
extreme cases that it is necessary. It has the disadvantage of 
continuing the habit, of exercising it, even though it be only 
light exercise. 

2. Remove the conditions and suggestions for the old habit. 
To assist one in leaving off the old habit, all the things that 
suggest it should be avoided. It is easier to stay away from a 
feast than to go and not partake. If necessary remove your- 
self from the environment and the people which invite or even 
make you think of the old habit. The force of suggestion can 
hardly be too much emphasized. One may break an old habit 
with comparative ease by going to a new environment and 
among different people. And one may fall into the old habit 
again immediately on frequenting the old haunts. 

3. Develop a substitute habit. Train yourself to a substi- 
tute habit so that whenever you think of the old habit, the new 
one takes its place. In the development of the new habit one 
can make use of many suggestions given for the formation of 
new habits. 

4. Penalties. As already shown, penalties, if they be real, 
are helps to the formation of habits; they are also helps to 
breaking habits. Let one suffer some unpleasant consequence 
of every lapse into the old habit and he will have a powerful 
influence to its discontinuance. 

5. A new ideal coupled with strong emotion. Religious 
conversions give us some of the best illustrations of the break- 
ing of old habits under the guidance of a new ideal and aided 
by the strong emotional reaction that may accompany it. 
Finding a new center of energy as it has been termed, a new 



LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION 61 

strong motive to action and to a new kind of life, may bring 
the desired result. Religion often accomplishes this. 

6. New demands and responsibilities. New demands and 
responsibilities also afford the motive power, so to speak, for 
breaking old habits and forming new ones. A new and better 
position, the presence of imitative children, the need for great- 
er efficiency, the influence of a new group of busines or social 
acquaintances, all help if they can be had. 

"Keep the faculty of effort alive." "As a final practical 
maxim, relative to these habits of will," writes James, in his 
immortal chapter on Habit, "we may, then, offer something 
like this: Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little 
gratuitous exercise every day. That is, be systematically as- 
cetic or heroic in little unnecessary points, do every day or 
two something for no other reason than that you would rather 
not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it 
may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test. 
Asceticism of this sort is like the insurance which a man pays 
on his house and goods. The tax does him no good at the 
time, and possibly may never bring him a return. But if the 
fire does come, his having paid it will be his salvation from 
ruin. So with the man who has daily inured himself to habits 
of concentrated attention, energetic volition, and self-denial 
in unnecessary things. He will stand like a tower when every- 
thing rocks around him, and when his softer fellow-mortals 
are winnowed like chaff in the blast." 

The habit of making new habits. One of the best ways in 
which to keep in the way of making progress beyond the old 
methods, the old ways of thinking, feeling and acting is to 
form the habit of making new habits. There is something 
stimulating and invigorating about the making of a new habit. 
There is no need for more than one settled kind of response 
in many of the situations of life, perhaps, in most of the situ- 
ations. But several kinds of response for situations that re- 
quire new adaptations, offer just the possibility of keeping 
pliable and avoiding narrowness. The most valuable tenden- 
cy of several may thus be chosen according to the circum- 
stances. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Show the needs for habits in the individual. 

2. What are the effects of habit formation? Do all habits 



62 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

have the same effect as regards the presence and absence of 
consciousness? 

3. Discuss the desirability of getting accuracy before at- 
tempting speed. 

4. Think of some desirable habit you might make and 
make a list of the factors you could use best to help in the for- 
mation of the habit. 

5. What are the greatest obstacles to habit formation? 

6. Discuss the best methods of breaking a bad habit. 

7. How may habits make for a contemptible character? 

8. How may habits be the greatest safeguards against 
temptation. 

REFERENCES. 

Book, W. F. The Psychology of Skill, with Special Reference to its 
Acquisition z'rt Typewriting. Univ. of Montana Pub. in Psychol., Bull. 
No. 53, Psychol. Series No. 1, 1908. 

Judd, C. H. The Psychology of High School Subjects. Ginn and 
Co., 1915. Ch. 12. 

James, W. Psychology, Briefer Course. Ch. 10. Or Principles of 
Psychology. Vol". 1, Ch. 4. 

Rowe, S. H. Habit Formation and the Science of Teaching. Long- 
mans, Green and Co., 1916. 



Chapter 5. 
ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY. 

The acquisition of knowledge. Lower organisms come into 
life and seem to adapt themselves with comparative ease to 
their environment. They do adapt themselves with less dif- 
ficulty than the higher organisms. This is true, partly, be- 
cause their inherited tendencies suffice to a very large degree 
to adapt them, and partly, because they have no such complex 
environment to which to become adapted as have the higher 
organisms. It is, however, not until we come to the highest 
form of life, namely, man, that we find the learning process 
must go on for a good many years before the individual is pre- 
pared to do what human beings consider really effective liv- 
ing. And it is only in the years beyond babyhood and earliest 
childhood that the conscious, self directed learning, called 
study goes on. The young child can learn but he cannot study. 

When he does come to study, in the home, in the school 
room, on the playground, or later in professional life, certain 
mental processes are necessary and fundamental. Of these 
processes we may mention as perhaps the most important, the 
ones that enter into the acquisition of knowledge through the 
senses, the making of judgments, the getting of clear concep- 
tions, and memorizing or making permanent, or, at least, com- 
paratively permanent the acquisitions. 

The larger activities just mentioned are made possible in 
different ways. The gathering of facts may be by means of 
observation, by reading, by conversation, or by recall of facts 
formerly learned and by reasoning. Clear ideas may be had 
through sufficiently careful and prolonged observation, or by 
turning over in mind ideas recalled or thought out. The de- 
sired judgments can be made only through careful reasoning 
with relevant ideas. 

In acquisition selection is always going on. One selects cer- 
tain factors rather than others in the study of external tilings; 
one selects some ideas rather than others in reasoning. There 
is always a grouping of thoughts; ideas are grouped with other 
ideas already present* indeed, either for understanding or for 
remembering, there must be some grouping or associating of 

63 



64 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

ideas. There is always some degree of impressing, of making 
the tendency to remember. Other processes might be men- 
tioned. In the present chapter we shall deal in turn with the 
acquisition of knowledge through the senses, and the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge through reasoning. We may in fact classi- 
fy all kinds of learning under these two heads for practical 
reasons. We might, of course, have another division of asso- 
ciative learning. But again let it be said and emphasized that 
association goes on in all kinds of learning and we prefer to* 
deal with it in this way. 

Acquisition through the senses: observational teaming. 
Four factors which determine our perceptions can be men- 
tioned. These are the objects themselves, the contents of con- 
sciousness, mental habits, and physiological conditions. 

1. The external object. The physical object obviously 
enough is one determinant of perception. The stimulus ar- 
ouses the sense organ. But the sensory processes alone are 
not sufficient. The first sights, sounds, feelings and the like, 
of the infant are not the same as the sights, sounds and feel- 
ings of the adult. We are reasonably sure that there are no 
"perceptions" in the first experiences of the infant. The im- 
pressions at first have no meaning. The object is not seen as. 
the particular object which it is. 

2. The contents of consciousness. A particularly instruc- 
tive case which illustrates the second factor is that of a man 
who was born blind and received his sight by an operation 
when an adult. He gazed at objects which were familiar to 
him through touch, but was unable to recognize them until he 
felt of them. Not until past experience, in the form of im- 
agery if you please, supplemented his sense impressions, 
could he "perceive" through the sense of sight. In the same 
way, knowledge that one has, determines whether or not one 
can read a page of Latin or of any other language. Knowl- 
edge of an object makes it possible to observe more details of 
the object. 

3. Mental habits. Mental habits also have a great deal to 
do with our perceptions. A good illustration of this is afford- 
ed by the clock in the Court House tower in Minneapolis. I 
fell into the habit of asking my students what kind of numer- 
als there are on the face of this clock. Most of them answer- 
ed Roman, a few said Arabic, and a few that there are no 
numerals on the face of this particular clock. The latter few 
were correct; there are none. But many people have 'seen" 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY 65 

them and I am sure that I 'saw' them once or twice before I 
discovered that I had a good example of illusion to use for my 
classes in beginning psychology. On the face of this clock 
twelve single bars are used in place of numerals; but people 
tend to 'see' what they are in the habit of seeing. 

4. Physiological processes. The correcting of physical de 7 
fects of school children has impressed those at all conversant 
with the facts that the physiological processes of the body and 
especially those of the nervous system are exceedingly impor- 
tant. In fact, when we state the exact truth, we are obliged 
to say that mental activity, of whatever kind, is absolutely de- 
pendent upon the underlying physiological activities. Mental 
defects correlate with brain defects. The removal of defects 
of eye and ear and of adenoids is followed by improvement in 
school work. More will be said on this subject in the chapter 
on Physical and Physiological Conditions. Suffice it to say 
here that observational learning as well as any other kind of 
learning depends directly upon good neural activity. 

Attention. One of the results of attention is better intellec- 
tual work. The better the attention, the better the intellectual 
activity. Attention means mental clearness. Genius, we are 
told, is only a "protracted attention." And it is this getting 
ideas clear and having them clear for a sufficiently long time 
that is one of the essentials in learning and especially in study. 

Attention to the object, the page, the speaker, is of prime 
importance in this kind of learning; attention which is defin- 
itely directed to the things which are to be remembered. This 
attention needs to be, not spasmodic and wandering, but sus- 
tained. 

Thoroughness. The completeness of observational learn- 
ing, Meumann tells us, aids the memory. Where things are 
left out, where there are lost links, so to speak, memory fails 
to find the connections which should be present. Thorough- 
ness is essential, but just what thoroughness means in a given 
case is a matter of judgment. Only by fulfilling the require- 
ments of a task is one sufficiently thorough, but thoroughness 
in finishing a woodshed is different from thoroughness in fin- 
ishing parlor decorations. A student may not be sufficiently 
thorough even if he does all the exercises in a given lesson; 
he may be much more thorough if he does half of the exercis- 
es and masters the principles involved. But it must be re- 
membered that it is the doing over and over again that makes 
an acquisition wholly ours. Again a student may not be suf- 



66 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

ficiently thorough even though he memorizes all the facts in 
a chapter; he may be more thorough if he chooses only the im- 
portant facts and understands them. 

There is a quotation in Porter's famous old book entitled,, 
"The Elements of Intellectual Science'' that is worthy of the 
consideration of anyone who would become a real student: 
"The late Sir Thomas Folwell Burton advised his sons in the 
following golden words: 'What you know, know thoroughly.' 

There are few instances in modern times of a rise equal 

to that of Sir Edward Sugden I ventured to ask him, 

What was the secret of his success; his answer was: T resolv- 
ed, when beginning to read law, to make everything I acquir- 
ed perfectly my own, and never to go to a second thing until 
I had entirely accomplished the first. Many of my competi- 
tors read as much in a day as I read in a week; but at the end 
of twelve months, my knowledge was as fresh as on the day 
it was acquired, while theirs had glided away from, their rec- 
ollection.' " 

Observation with definite expectation. Observational study 
may go on under either one of two conditions : first, with def- 
inite expectation of the things that are to be noted; second, 
under the problem of making a complete observation of every- 
thing under consideration. The results of the observations 
with and without definite expectation are sure to be different 
in most cases. With the expectation present a person find& 
what he is seeking more quickly; he is surer of it when he sees 
it; and he has a more comfortable feeling in being able to say, 
this is not it and that is not it, and finally, this is it and I know 
it; this looks exactly like the picture in the book, or it is ex- 
actly what the teacher described. 

But beware! The clear imagination of the thing to be ob- 
served is all too likely to make one see it as he imagines it 
rather than as it is, or possibly to think he sees it even if it is 
not present. Students find what they are looking for whether 
it is there or not. In the laboratory they find structures 
whether the microscope reveals them or not. Or they see 
something else and mistake it for the thing which is clearly 
imagined in their own minds. The fact was reported to me 
recently that for a number of years instructors in a certain 
subject had "seen" a certain structure which had been report- 
ed to exist in a certain kind of plant. The existence of this 
structure was believed for several years and was found by 
many students. A more intensive study of the same plant 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY 67 

later proved that no such structure existed. The triumph of 
suggestion over perception. The student who knows definite- 
ly what he is looking for, must then, make his observation as 
true to the facts as possible to avoid the influence of mislead- 
ing suggestions. 

"Apperception." As commonly used, apperception prob- 
ably means nothing more than perception, except that it may 
serve to emphasize the meaning side of the perception. It is 
true that a person must interpret in terms of the knowledge 
that he has; that is the only possible way. The more he 
knows when he reads a book or hears a lecture, the more he 
can understand and remember. The student generally has 
too few ideas under which to classify the new facts; one im- 
portant work of an education is to develop more and more 
heads under which to classify new facts. In this way classify- 
ing can be more accurate. Getting mentally fossilized is 
mostly a matter of being unable to develop new ideas with 
which to understand and to classify. Taking one point of 
view may lead one to over look others. And one should re- 
member that it is safe to look at problems from more than 
one point of view. 

Observation for complete analysis. In the second place, 
observation may be made for complete analysis. A problem 
may be set: to analyze as completely as possible this plant, or 
that tissue in anatomy, or the reaction in the test tube, that is, 
to note whatever there is to note. Here the student loses the 
limiting effect of definite expectation, and he needs to limit 
the attention by the problem, noting only the things that are 
pertinent to his problem. If he is to note everything possible, 
to make an exhaustive analysis, the limitation of the attention 
is not so vital; but here one should at least be systematic and 
observe first one kind of fact and then another, for example, 
facts in relation to form, then to color, then to texture, etc., or 
in whatever order the material and problem demand. Points 
of view should be present to the student from his general in- 
formation, and others should present themselves as the study 
proceeds. The results of such study are to be verified by re- 
peated observation and by comparison with the results of 
others. It may also be remarked that besides the details to be 
noted, one should not forget to note the impression of the thing 
as a whole, that is, the general or total impression. 

Learning by trial and error. What is commonly known as 
the trial and error method of learning offers a means of pro- 



68 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

during results that the student can observe and from which 
he can select those results and methods that are suitable for 
his purpose. It should be remembered that the trial and er- 
ror method may waste much time, but for simple things it may 
give a solution quickly and save time required for reasoning. 
If the method is used systematically, as by the inventor, it may 
give results that could be had in no other way. This is the 
method by which Edison is said to have discovered the fili- 
ment for the incandescent lamp. One kind of material was 
used after the other and cast aside until finally the acceptable 
material was found. The value of a theory obtained by reas- 
oning, the usefulness of a new piece of apparatus, can be 
known only through trying and observing the results of the 
trials. 

Imitation. Imitation has its limitations; it permits one to 
progress no farther than the model, and the value of results is 
directly dependent upon the correctness of the model. Above 
all, one should realize how much is learned through uncon- 
scious imitation, that is, imitation of which the imitator is un- 
conscious: the acquiring of a language, of the accent, of the 
feeling for a language, pronunciation, manner of acting and 
of talking, all are or may be learned largely by imitation of 
which the learner is hardly conscious and all too likely not at 
all critical. Some of the things that go the deepest and are 
the hardest to eradicate are learned by this method. This 
fact alone makes it imperative that one have for teachers 
those whom one can imitate to advantage. The need for a 
fine personality in the teacher comes from the tendency to- 
wards unconscious imitation on the part of the student. 

Note-taking. Learning through the senses is likely to in- 
volve taking notes. Taking notes is a difficult art. Reviewing 
poor notes for an examination is the cause of some if not of 
many failures. A few suggestions are pertinent. 

Just as all study should be topical, so all note-taking should 
be topical. The first thing is to know the general subject or 
problem; next to get the first main head, then the sub-heads 
under this with illustrations for each point if possible; next 
the second main head with the sub-heads and illustrations; 
next the third main head, and so on. 

Note specific facts and the exceptions to the facts; both are 
valuable. Be sure to put down self explanatory headings, not 
mere headings that suggest that there were facts of some kind 
given. Get the facts. Do not fall into the bad habit of mere- 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY 69 

ly getting general impressions. If an address is for the pur- 
pose of inspiring, be inspired if you can; this is not the kind 
of talk of which to take notes. 

For accuracy use the words of the speaker; for speed in get- 
ting things written, learn to put into your own words and to 
abbreviate. Use shorthand expressions and learn the words 
that can be omitted without loss of meaning. Be brief; the 
fewer notes you take, the more likely you will be to choose the 
more important things or at least to have a chance to train 
yourself to do this, and, what is also very important, you can 
attend to the thoughts expressed and not be so liable to put 
down one thought and lose two. Taking complete statements 
means a loss of time and is of very questionable advantage in 
the long run. Occasionally a full statement, or a definition, 
should be taken. As a rule you can find a sufficient number 
of full statements in the text-books. Remember anyway that 
the speaker gives more than you are to get into your notes or 
than you need to remember. Get the important things with 
examples to make them clear. 

Improvement in the art comes through practice. The writ- 
ing itself should become largely mechanical. Train yourself 
to give the maximum of attention to the thought and to the 
selection of what you shall write and a minimum of attention 
to the writing itself. 

Acquisition by Reasoning. In reasoning the emphasis is on j 
the selection of ideas, meanings, consequences. The picking 
out and ordering of material, facts, ideas, according to mean- 
ing, is the fundamental and essential thing to both understand- 
ing and remembering. The student, the public speaker, any- 
one, indeed, with a reasonably good memory, finds it possible 
to memorize unorganized material; but that which is organiz- 
ed can be mastered much more quickly. If the material that 
one studies is not presented with a sufficient degree of organ- 
ization, the student will do best to organize it for himself, both 
for ease of understanding and for subsequent ability to recall 
it. 

Study of this kind follows one of two directions, cither the 
thinking through the thoughts of another as found in his writ- 
ten discourse or speech, or in the relatively independent reas- 
oning carried on by the use of ideas present in one's own mem- 
ory. The two situations are, so far as the nature of the prob- 
lems of study go, very largely the same with one exception; 
in the latter case the student is dependent upon the richness 



70 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

and readiness of his own mind to furnish the ideas with which 
to reason. 

Selection and organization. Taking selection and organiz- 
ation of material as the most vital things to be accomplished 
in study of this kind, how shall we proceed? It is found, as 
might be expected, that attention to meaning is best. The re- 
alization of the general problem, of the point at issue, of the 
purpose or aim should be sought first; then the leading 
thoughts and the subsidiary thoughts for each leading thought. 
Every concrete example that is given or that can be found is 
a help in getting the ideas clear, in knowing not vaguely but 
exactly what is meant. Concrete examples, thinking in terms 
of definite objects, etc., are valuable especially if the matter is 
descriptive. Attention to temporal relations is important if 
the matter is narrative; and the logical relations help wher- 
ever they can be found in any kind of material. Concrete ex- 
amples are always valuable, and the ability to give a concrete 
example is a good test of clearness of thought. Experience 
seems to show that a mastery of material is aided very greatly 
by outlining and then mastering the outline. The outline em- 
phasizes the important thoughts, and shows relations between 
them; making the outline directs attention upon one point 
after another, assuring the student of attention to each point 
which goes into his outline. Putting the thoughts into one's 
own words may help also. 

Essence of reasoning. The essence of all reasoning lies in 
the choosing or rejecting, the affirming or denying of any ideas 
or rather series of ideas that are present in succeeding mom- 
ents in mind. One such affirmation or negation is a judgment; 
a series of such judgments constitutes reasoning. The raw 
material of the reasoning is the ideas of which something is 
to be affirmed or denied. The highest type of reasoning, so- 
called, requires that the former ideas be attributes of some 
larger complex, or of some phase of a situation, some partly 
hidden quality perhaps; and being able to affirm or to deny 
the consequences of these. 

The problem for the student. The problem for the student, 
when he is to do something more than merely follow the 
course of reasoning of someone else, is to reason correctly for 
himself. What helps to this do we find? The study of logic 
may help or it may not; it depends on how it is taught and 
how it is studied. But if it or anything else demands certain 
practice, especially, in the way of correct thinking, or if the 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY 71 

student demands it of himself he may expect to come into the 
habit of correct reasoning. 

Helps to the habits of correct thinking. Following through 
good reasoning of others is a valuable aid. This is made pos- 
sible both by the written and spoken words of another. It is 
obvious that one should choose only books in which the think- 
ing is correct, clear, and helpful, not books which are vague 
and confused. Reasoning with others and finding one's mis- 
takes in the criticisms of others and in the inability to make 
one's arguments go clearly and strikingly home to the other 
party in the discussion; studying one's own language and de- 
veloping one's vocabular3% these are essential. Advance in 
thought and language will be found to go along together. 

Another help lies in the checking of the results of reasoning 
by trials or by experiment. In other words, learn to verify. 
This is done in the business and professional world and 
should be practised by the student. A sufficient fund of 
knowledge on which to do the reasoning is necessary; obser- 
vation, recall in memory, all the results of past thinking are 
foundations for reasoning. Practice in picking out the essen- 
tial attribute or phase of a situation, or fact that in this partic- 
ular case leads to the right conclusion, and knowledge of right 
and wrong ways of thinking, common errors in thinking and 
how to avoid them, all help. 

The value of ideas. Ideas, it is seen, are useful in sev- 
eral ways: they permit a wider range of possible judgments 
and therefore of possible modes of action; they permit the af- 
firmation or the denial of a reasoned conclusion, which means 
perhaps great economy. So far as action goes, this means 
that memory can present what observation cannot in the way 
of suggesting the right performance; a course of action may 
be rehearsed mentally and judged to be satisfactory or unsat- 
isfactory without the need of actually trying out and losing 
time. Ideas may suggest several things and the best tried first 
thus bringing a saving of time and effort. 

Age and learning. In the modern tendency to think that 
all types of learning arc about equally important at all ages, 
we may fall into the way of thinking that age, after all, is not 
so very important as a factor in acquisition. Recent experi- 
ments tend to show that students in the elementary school 
carry on reflective thinking in the same genera] manner as do 
high school pupils. All of which may be true, but if it is true, 
it does not in any way go to show that a greater amount of re- 



72 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

fective thinking for younger pupils is a step in the direction 
of economy. 

The more important question in relation to age, is not just 
what should come early, but that acquisitions that are to be 
made, be made as early as possible. It seems that we can do 
no better than to go back to James' statement: "The greatest 
thing, then, in all education, is to make our nervous system 
our ally instead of our enemy. It is to fund and capitalize our 
acquisitions, and live at ease upon the interest of the fund. 
For this we must make automatic and habitual, as early as 
possible, as many useful actions as we can, and guard against 
the growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous 
to us, as we should guard against the plague." 

The truth is that the earlier we make acquisitions the more 
they become a part of us. The better the habits the better 
foundation we have for all later acquisitions. And, further- 
more, the better we have guarded against poorer and less 
economical learning. 

Jost's law. Jost's law states that "Of two associations which 
are of equal strength but of different ages, the older receives 
the greater intensification from a new repetition." Surely 
economy appears to lie in early acquisition. This does not 
mean to imply that health of the young child should in any 
way be endangered. Health is the first and most important 
thing for the young. 

Let us add the fact that some kind of habits are formed any- 
way by the child in his earliest years and the educational prob- 
lem resolves itself not into how early shall education begin 
but into the problem of determining what those early habits 
shall be. After all, then, it is merely a choice of what habits 
shall be formed in the earliest years. It is to be hoped that 
the education will be directed and only the best habits be 
formed. We say, of course, and then forget the matter, that 
children know more than we give them credit for. Yes, they 
do, and they are forming habits of thinking, feeling and doing, 
which we undertake altogether too late many times to deal 
with. 

Subjects to be taught at different ages. To come back to the 
less important problem, which is, however, of considerable im- 
portance. How much should age determine the content of 
what is taught? The common view, which has been current 
for a long time, is that up to the age of about eight or nine, the 
student is preeminently fitted to do memory work and not 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY 



73 



very well able to do work that involves much reasoning. After 
this age he is especially fitted to study things that involve reas- 
oning. As Parker puts it: "It is commonly maintained that 
the age from six to fourteen is the best age for learning a lan- 
guage and for acquiring motor skill, and that adolescence is 
the golden age for reasoning." The newer conception is ex- 
pressed by the same author as follows : "In opposition to this 
general point of view this chapter maintains that all types of 
learning are important at all ages." (73). 

Out of the conflict of facts and opinions it is probably too 
early to draw many conclusions. But it is certain that some 
reflective thinking is beyond the grasp of children; and furth- 
er that some reflective thinking that they can do can not be 
dealt with economically till a later age. 



So 


Figure 1. 


6,0 


\ / 




>r / 


4o 


/ 

/ 




. / 


ZO 


/ 

MCoueL 




Sclent 

j__ « 1 1 1 



College /f.S. 7-8 S-6 3-4 ? r^des 



Fig. I. Percent of observers who did 1 etter work in reading silently and aloud. 
Pintner and Gilliland). J. Ed. Psychol., 7:1916, _'io. 



/4 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

The question is not what they can do, merely, but what can 
they do most economically? And this is, probably, for the 
most part to be determined. 

Other conclusions. It seems possible at this time to state a 
few other conclusions relative to age. Younger children lack 
a wide range of information for use as the basis for reasoning. 
Children before adolescence have fewer and in many cases no 
ideals, and lack in determination, purpose, and "mental 
grasp." They are more bothered and distracted by their feel- 
ings. There is greater fatigue for the same amount of work 
and shorter study periods are necessary. Silent reading is 
faster than oral reading after about the fourth grade. See 
Fig. 1. Arithmetic is learned much more quickly after about 
ten years of age. The study of grammar shows relatively 
poor results with children, and much better results with 
adults. 

What subjects should be taught at certain ages is also com- 
plicated by social problems which are very important. The 
question has been raised especially in connection with the 
teaching of foreign languages to young people. Many child- 
ren will never use foreign languages and many parents have 
objected to teaching them until it is known that children will 
need them. When it is found that a child will need a certain 
language, it is argued, then is time enough to teach him that 
language. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. What are the main kinds of learning? Why do you dis- 
tinguish these? 

2. Classify the kinds of learning in as many different ways 
as you can. What new facts can you learn from making dif- 
ferent classifications? 

3. What reason can you give for not considering associ- 
ative learning as a separate kind of learning? 

4. In learning through the senses what are the most im- 
portant conditions of learning? 

5. What errors are most likely to occur in this kind of 
learning? 

6. In what ways can you improve your methods of taking 
notes? 

7. How is learning by reasoning different from observa- 
tional learning? 



ACQUISITION WHICH INVOLVES STUDY /5 

8. What have been the greatest helps to you in learning 
how to reason? How can you improve your reasoning in 
ways that you have not tried? 

9. Will practice in correct reasoning help you in other 
fields besides the fields in which the practice occurs? (See 
chapter on The Transfer of Acquisitions: General Training). 

10. How far should age determine what should be taught 
and studied? How far should other factors determine this? 

REFERENCES. 

Bagley, W. C. The Educative Process. The Macmillan Co., 1906. 
Ch. 12. 

Colvin, S. S. The Learning Process. The Macmillan Co., 1911. 
Pp. 259-329. 

Dewey, John. How We Think. D. C. Heath and Co., 1910. 

James, W. The Principles of Psychology. H. Holt and Co., 
Vol. 1: 459-482; Vol. 2: 323-360. 

Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn and Co., 
1915. Ch. 13. 

Pillsrury, W. B. The Psychology of Reasoning. D. Appleton and 
Co., 1910. 

Swain, G. F. How to Study. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1917. 



Chapter 6. 
WAYS OF THINKING AND PITFALLS FOR THE STUDENT. 

Common tendencies in intellectual activity. The economy 
of study demands that the student's thinking be accurate. It 
is of value then, to note the common natural tendencies in the 
world of thought; some of them are very likely to lead one as- 
tray. They are all valuable in their places and when used 
correctly. So easily does one fall into the pitfalls of incorrect 
thinking that students often become skeptical of reasoning al- 
together. History reveals blunder after blunder in the reas- 
oning of men. It reveals also the travail through which man 
passed to find correct solutions for his problems. A review 
of the intellectual efforts of man permits us to note the advan- 
tages and disadvantages of his modes of thinking. Some of 
these are the subject matter of this chapter. Perhaps the 
most valuable service such a chapter can render is to point 
out the dangerous bypaths into which one is continually liable 
to be led, many of which he may never notice if his attention 
is not called to them. 

Predisposition or prejudice. It must be remembered that 
all of our thinking is subject to our particular prejudice or 
bias. Try as hard as we will it is practically impossible to 
free ourselves from all prejudice. Our points of view have 
been largely determined by our home training. The likes and 
dislikes, the hopes and beliefs of our dear ones have become a 
part of us. So our political creed is largely a matter of pre- 
judice with most of us rather than conclusions cooly and care- 
fully thought out. Our hopes and our ambitions color our 
thinking. How many of us have believed that a doctrine was 
right because a dear friend accepted it! How much more the 
evidence for our side of an argument weighs with us, even 
though the evidence for the other side is better! We 'preper- 
ceive', as James puts it, because we already have the image of 
the thing in mind. That is to say, we see things before they 
have appeared for observation. More than that we see things 
that cannot by any possibility appear for observation. Re- 
member the structure 'seen' by the botanists in the plant which 
was afterwards proved to contain no such structure. We hear 

76 



WAYS OF THINKING 77 

much about "party bias" and find even in advanced students 
evidence of the fact that disputes arise on account of the pre- 
judice of people. A man, for example, hears what he wants 
to hear in a lecture and afterwards in discussion with the lec- 
turer shows that he has interpreted the statements of the lec- 
ture not at all in accordance with the intention of the lecturer 
but according to his own prejudice. 

Some predispositions have their advantages; know just what 
you are looking for, and if it is there, you will find and recog- 
nize it more easily. Espouse a cause, and you can the more 
easily find the arguments to justify it. Get into sympathy 
with an enemy, and you can more easily see and understand 
his situation and the reasons for his actions. 

To realize the presence and the effects of predispositions is 
a means and should be a help towards guarding against our 
being misled. Granted that we cannot be without prejudice 
of some kind; we can learn to predispose ourselves to know 
exactly and clearly instead of to know just this or just that 
and to justify what we have thought or believed, or want to 
think or to believe. 

Empathy. Man tends to humanize his surroundings, and 
the tendency harks back to the childhood of the race. For 
early man, all that moved and changed was supposed to have 
thoughts and feelings like his own. As a heritage of the child- 
hood thinking of the race we have such expressions as 'the 
angry storm,' 'the gentle breeze', 'the fury of the elements,' 
and 'the smiling sky.' Thus we are prone to think of the pil- 
lars that hold up ponderous weights in a humanizing kind of 
way. We see a pillar, as Titchener puts it, "plant itself dog- 
gedly under a too heavy pressure, — precisely as a man might 
do." But we go on to read reasoning into the mind of the an- 
imal, and morality into the mind of the human infant. How 
do we know that the motive of a certain writer was the same 
as we would have had. 

The tendency to interpret in terms of our own mental pro- 
cesses thus leads us to very questionable conclusions not only 
in the empathizing of inanimate things but in the particular 
conclusions in regard to the human being itself. To reason 
our own personality into things has its basis in the fact that we 
are dependent upon our own thoughts for the interpretations 
of things external to ourselves. But it is obvious that the 
tendency needs to be checked by objective facts. 



78 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Partial, hasty observations and false conclusions. A com- 
mon, and all too common, tendency is to observe only partially, 
to notice some outstanding features of the thing observed, of 
the page read, to get a hasty total impression and afterwards, 
likely enough, to supplement this from imagination. A short 
time ago a student made a statement which was obviously the 
result of unconsciously putting together two halves of two dif- 
ferent sentences. The ideas expressed in the two sentences 
had been missed and another incorrect one substituted. 

The often quoted case of Agassiz and the fish furnishes an 
example of that kind of study which should offset the hurry- 
ing, superficial work of the majority of our students. The 
student you remember thought he had finished his observa- 
tional study of the fish in a few hours. Agassiz taught him 
that he could see new things for several days. To be able to 
perceive is an achievement. 

Learning by trial and error. The trial and error method 
may most quickly show how a simple piece of apparatus 
works; in searching for the best material for the filament for 
the incandescent light that method may be the only way, and 
the inventor accordingly chooses it, because it offers material 
for observational learning and reasoning. But in complex 
and especially in dangerous problems the method may be very 
slow or hazardous; a little thinking may remove both the 
waste of time and the danger; the use of reason may permit 
one to rehearse former performances and reject many useless 
trials; by thinking one may select the best way to be tried 
first; thus instead of shaking the clock to make it go, one may 
look for the simple thing which may set everything right so 
that it will not soon stop again. But reasoning seems to be 
unpleasant for most people, and they fall into the easier habits 
of the trial and error method or into the habit of imitating 
wherever they can. 

Imitation. Imitation gives us a very large part of our 
habits. We unconsciously imitate the language of those 
around us; we consciously imitate the methods of the expert 
workman. There are the advantages of directness, and con- 
creteness, awd a clear idea of the thing to be done and how to 
do it, economy of time and high incentive if the model is suf- 
ficiently good. But the poor model and the mistaken action 
mislead the imitator; how much easier and more expedient to 
copy the poor model in the shop, the poor system in the office, 
the time worn methods of the mechanic than to think a little 
and to have something better. 



WAYS OF THINKING 79 

The student whether he be in college or in business, should 
choose the best model, and should add some reasoning also. 
The successful man must have not only sight, but insight; and 
not only insight but foresight. It is by seeing into, and through 
and beyond; by dreaming out what may be and making those 
dreams come true that one transforms a job into a position, 
and is himself transformed from a $1000.00 man into a $5000.- 
00 man. 

Careful rather than fast work. We need to advise students 
to do careful, accurate, work rather than to do fast work. The 
demands of life will bring the student to work fast. Speed, 
after all, is one of the late things to acquire. The stenograph- 
er works first for accuracy and can later force himself for 
speed. All our knowledge of habit formation, so far as it 
bears on this subject, emphasizes the need of accuracy first. 
Speed can and will come later; and later is the only time it can 
come without interfering with the quality of the work. Rapid 
reading and skimming are work for the very advanced stu- 
dent, or reviewer, not for everyone. 

The tendency to get general impressions. When Professor 
Hiram Corson, the famous teacher of English literature at 
Cornell University, advised his students to read the plays of 
Shakespeare, going rapidly over one each evening until he had 
read them all, he had in mind, as he once told me, a very val- 
uable point. That was that it was highly educative to get 
bird's eye views, general impressions, to see in a large view, 
things in their relations, somewhat as one might get their gene- 
ral impressions of a city by going over it in an air ship or rid- 
ing through all its principal streets in an automobile. Grant 
that this is valuable and it is. Grant that it is well worth while 
to get general impressions, to see the significance of many 
facts, to be able to see the principles, or fundamental truths, 
which may be derived from detailed facts. The sciences de- 
mand the knowledge of detailed facts, and the student should 
realize that if he sometimes studies for general impressions 
alone, at many other times he must be very attentive to details 
for the purpose of having detailed knowledge. It is easy to 
fall into the habit of getting general impressions; it is not so 
easv to bring one's self to the hard work of mastering details. 

Coincidences considered as matters of cause and effect. 
One of the most common and misleading tendencies is that of 
regarding coincidences, things that occur together in time, as 



80 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

having happened as cause and effect. It having been observ- 
ed that accidents have befallen those who began a journey on 
Friday, the belief has arisen that the accident happened as an 
effect of the starting on Friday. One may ridicule, but such 
superstitions are so deeply set in many people that it is con- 
sidered by some business men a bad proposition to have a 
room numbered 13 in a hotel. If one analyzes like cases one 
finds that a few facts have been observed and many others 
overlooked. People have started on Friday and had no acci- 
dents. Others have started on other days of the week and met 
with accidents. The illustration is typical, and the tendency 
involved is universal: events, which are mere coincidences, 
are supposed to have happened with some cause and effect 
relationship. 

Jumping to conclusions on the basis of too few facts. Our 
practical every day living leads us to make many inferences 
very quickly and with brief observations that we do not need 
to stop and verify. The advantage is obvious; it saves 
time and in a large percent of cases satisfies the requirements 
of the situation. But this is just the tendency that frequently 
leads us astray. The student of sociology may spend a few 
hours in an institution and from his observations come to con- 
clusions which are wholly at variance with the facts. Many 
of those who as students have worked their way across the At- 
lantic have found that a few hours observation which a pass- 
enger can enjoy even under the best circumstances, give in 
many ways an inadequate idea of many of the workings of 
the ships. Not so long ago people concluded that a liquid 
would rise in an inverted tube from which the air had been 
withdrawn, because 'nature abhorred a vacuum.' 

One may conclude that a certain method of study is the best 
because of the excellent results obtained, e. g. memorizing by 
parts. Further facts may show that another method is better. 
Memorizing by wholes rather than by parts has thus proved to 
be better. The student who makes observations in the labora- 
tory needs to realize that what he observes, far from indicat- 
ing a scientific law, may be an exception to the rule. The fact 
is that a few observations may be very misleading; many de- 
tailed observations alone give safety to conclusions and then 
they should be verified by the observations of other students. 

Reasoning by analogy. As misleading , and probably as 
common, as any method of reasoning, is analogy, reasoning by 



WAYS OF THINKING 81 

similarities or by resemblances. We reason that the school 
system of Gary is very good and that since it is so good for 
Gary it would be good for our city. The likelihood is that it 
would not be good for any other city than Gary, although some 
features might and probably could be very well adapted to 
other cities. The classical example of analogy which is best 
known is that of Newton reasoning from the fall of the apple 
to the theory of gravitation which he afterwards verified by 
other methods. But it should be remembered that he did veri- 
fy by other methods. And it should not be forgotten that for 
one analogy that has led scientists to the truth, there have been 
many that have led them astray. 

The first thing to realize is that analogy never proves any- 
thing; at best it can only suggest possible truths, and reason- 
ing of some other kind is necessary to bring the proof. Only 
on the degree of similarity and the importance of the similari- 
ties found can truths be even indicated. Vague resemblances 
and fancied similarities are forever leading the reasoner 
astray and proving nothing. 

The economist reasons that since government ownership 
has proved good for some other country it would in like man- 
ner be good for us. But what is good for one people would 
not necessarily do for another people. Farmers have reason- 
ed that if fertilizer is good for one crop it is good for another. 
But the fertilizer that is good for corn is not in like manner 
good for oats. I have an acquaintance who reasoned that 
since the daily cold plunge was excellent for her husband it 
would also be good for her. The result of her first plunge 
was a severe illness from which she did not recover for two 
weeks. A good many people who see life in terms of efficien- 
cy, — there are many students among the number, — are reason- 
ing that they can work the long hours and sleep the few thai 
some great people are said to have worked and slept. Sonic 
discover the danger; others go on to the breakdown. 

Reasoning from what 'ought to be' to supposed facts. Reas- 
oning from the idea that a thing ought to be thus and so, is a 
dangerous kind of procedure. The fact is that we frequently 
do not find what we think ought to be. The law on this sub- 
ject ought to be so and so, but very likely it is not. Or perhaps 
we find the statement of the law and decide that the interpre- 
tation ought to be thus and so, and to our dismay find out later 
that it is very different. Perhaps a thing should be a certain 
way, but that does not alter the facts of the case. The oft re- 



82 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

peated remark of one of my old teachers of mathematics is 
not without its significance: we should "ascertain by finding 
out." 

The conversion of arguments. A less common tendency is 
that of converting arguments. Students learn in psychology 
that for every psychical process there is a corresponding pro- 
cess in the nervous system. It is not uncommon for them to 
erroneously conclude that for every process in the nervous 
system there is a corresponding psychical process. This is not 
true. The error of conversion of arguments is obvious, if from 
the statement, all college professors are adults, we concede 
that all adults are college professors. In physics we learn 
that equal volumes of gases having the same temperature and 
pressure have the same number of molecules; but to convert 
this and say that volumes having the same number of mole- 
cules have the same temperature and pressure, is wrong. 

Originality without preparation. There is also a tendency 
to attempt to be original on the basis of too few ideas, of too 
little knowledge in the field where the originality is attempted. 
To be original is one thing; to produce something that is both 
original and valuable is another. For the latter, one needs 
first to know all one can in the field of his efforts; to have 
many memories of the best in this field; to have some critical 
judgment in these matters. Then he may reasonably hope to 
be original in a valuable sort of way. 

Affirming of the whole what is true of a part. Like the 
blind men who told about the elephant after each of them had 
felt of a part of the animal, we are continually reasoning from 
a part of the whole. One man said that the elephant was like 
his trunk; another said he was like his tail; another who had 
felt of a leg said he was like a tree. We reason that an organi- 
zation is like some of the members we know. Commonly 
enough people denounce a club, or a church, or all churches, 
on account of the few rascals, or hypocrites that they know to 
be members. Many people evidently judge a college commu- 
nity by the noisy, loafing few who are generally conspicuous. 

Affirming of a part what is true of the whole. Commonly 
also we reason from a whole to the part. An organization is 
taken as sufficient to vouch for its members. If a man belongs 
to that organization, we say, he must be all right. Most people 
are on their guard against this particular mistake. But most 
people do exactly the same kind of thing when they accept 
every statement of a man or a book because of the establish- 



WAYS OF THINKING 83 

ished reputation of the individual or of the book as a whole. 
This is indeed an error against which the student must con- 
stantly guard. A text book may be the best that can be had 
but the excellence of the book cannot be so great that every 
statement is to be accepted. 

Reasoning from incorrect premises, ^fuch of the trickery 
used by those who would mislead the unwary consists in try- 
ing to get the victim to accept something incorrect at the out- 
set, in the first statement, before he realizes that it is time to be 
on his guard. A small error at the begining of an argument 
is sufficient to lead to the wildest conclusions. A good illus- 
tration of this is the course of reasoning, familiar to many of 
us, by means of which we prove by faultless logic, that an ob- 
tuse angle is equal to a right angle. All that is needed for this 
is the incorrect start. And the error is, by the way, not very 
easy to detect. 

Proving one thing and assuming proof of another. If a be- 
lief is very dear to us it is not at all uncommon to reason to 
the possibility of the belief and then to assume the probability. 
However, a thing may be possible but far from probable. It is 
possible that the world will come to an end in a few years but 
it is not probable. The student may prove that government 
ownership is good for one country and assume that he has 
proved it for his own country. One may prove objections 
against a movement and assume that the movement itself has 
been proved undesirable. But there may be more or better 
arguments in favor of it. 

Appeal to the feelings instead of to the intellect. Everyone 
is well acquainted With this form of influencing people. In 
the court room, pictures of the sorrowing, needy wife at home, 
of the children who need the protection and care of the father, 
or the presentation of a child to the jury, are used to work 
upon the feelings. The clever writer may be able to make you 
feel that a thing is so; but to feel may lead you from the correct 
thinking. The slogan appeals largely to our feelings and car- 
ries conviction, especially with the crowd. When facts give 
out, when the lawyer can not prove his case against his oppon- 
ent, the appeal mav be to the feelings by way of slander. 

Rejecting a conclusion because of sonic bad arguments. It 
seems to be a common tendency to throw tilings overboard in 
a wholesale fashion when one begins, instead of selecting the 
good and retaining it and rejecting the rest. "Nothing," wrote 
Paulsen, "is more dangerous to a good cause than false argu- 



84 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

nients." I know, as most of us do if we look around a little, a 
number of people, who have lost their faith because their be- 
liefs were dependent upon bad arguments. When the argu- 
ments went, the beliefs went with them. Paulsen gives the 
case of Darwin who lost his belief in Christianity because the 
poor arguments which had been taught him in early life had 
to go by the board. The thing that the student should learn, 
of course, is that arguments may be bad and have to go, but 
that the belief, or cause, or what not, may be good, and that 
there may be good arguments if they can only be found. 

Language difficulties. One of the great difficulties in educa- 
tion is in the use of words. Words are easily used not to ex- 
press ideas but in place of ideas. One child returned home 
from school and told her mother that she had learned a new 
word. What was it? "Gozinta." What did it mean? That 
she did not know, but the teacher had said : "Two gozinta 
eight four times." This indefiniteness of ideas in connection 
with language is the cause of most of the differences between 
disputants in ordinary arguments; the definition of terms and 
a few distinctions may show them that they have no real dif- 
ference of opinion. 

Words are used in more than one sense, and ambiguity 
arises; words are employed as slogans and election cries to 
arouse the feelings and at the same time to hoodwink the in- 
tellect. Our natural psychological tendencies, if we are not 
alert and discriminating, put us at the mercy of these things, 
not only when used by others but also when used by ourselves. 
A good piece of advice from which every student might profit, 
is: "Avoid being at the mercy of your words." Students are 
often unable to answer a question unless it is stated in the ex- 
act words of the book. They are at the mercy of words. 

The great achievement for the student. The great achieve- 
ment for the student is to be clear and accurate and to under- 
stand. To be lost in logical quibbles is small, and to put un- 
due emphasis on technicalities hardly gives evidence of sin- 
cerity and desire for the exact truth. To think accurately 
and to get into the habit of thinking accurately is far different 
from the mere getting of conclusions or answers. In order to 
think clearly and accurately, the student must learn how to 
think and how to avoid errors in thinking. He must realize 
the natural tendencies and know when they are leading him 
aright and when they are misleading him. He must put him- 
self resolutely to the effort of doing the hard work of real 



WAYS OF THINKING 85 

thinking. And it is well and comforting for him to remember 
that there are few things in which keener or more lasting 
pleasure can be found than that which is to be found in good 
intellectual work. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Distinguish between psychological tendencies of thought 
and logical errors that may result from them. 

2. What errors may occur from too much haste? 

3. What would you consider as the most common logical 
pitfalls for the student? 

4. How may predisposition or prejudice affect reasoning 
and even perception? 

5. Pick out as many mistakes as you can that you think 
you have been making in your studying. 

6. What are some of the advantages of learning by, A) the 
trial and error method, B) by imitation? Name some disad- 
vantages for each method. 

7. Are there times or studies that make the attempt to get 
general impressions more valuable than learning so many de- 
tailed facts? When or for what studies is this true? 

8. Recall instances in which pupils have answered in terms 
of words instead of ideas. What can you do to help students 
to get back of words to the ideas? What does it mean to be at 
the mercy of words? 

REFERENCES. 

Creighton, J. E. An Introductory Logic. The Macmillan Co., 1910. 
Espec. Chs. 12, 13, 18, 20, 22 and 25. 

Sidgwick, A. Fallacies. Int. Scien. Series. D. Appleton and Co., 
1895. 



Chapter 7. 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVABILITY. 

The universality of improvement. With the exception of 
a very few cases, it can safely be said that there is no intellec- 
tual or motor activity which does not improve with practice. 
Where small improvement is noted it is likely either that the 
requirements of life have already brought about a large share 
of the possible improvement in the given case, or, that the con- 
ditions for improvement are in some way lacking. Normally 
one can rightly expect, if he take advantage of the conditions 
of improvement, and, of course, if he have the capacity to 
start with, that very great improvement can be made in any- 
thing which he is willing to practice regularly and persistent- 
ly. The fact stands out from experiments and the experiences 
of experts that the improvement can be much greater than 
most people ever attain. 

How easy to go a little way while the novelty continues and 
the difficulties are comparatively few and quickly overcome. 
How sure, on the other hand, is the expertness, the proficiency, 
even the mastery of practically anything, if one has the stuff 
within him and is aroused to make continuous application to 
the chosen work. To do and to do again, to fail if necessary 
and to come back with the resilience of a Damascus blade, to 
keep everlastingly at it, is the first and most fundamental con- 
dition of improvement. 

Habit and the law of * short-circuiting.' In the process of 
learning the new activity which is to be learned requires the 
activity of the higher centers of the nervous system. The 
learner must be attentive. There is necessary a relatively 
high degree of attention to each action. Immediately, how- 
ever, the law of 'short-circuiting' is found to be working, and 
that which is, at first, highly conscious, begins to be carried on 
by the lower centers. That is, the activity which necessitated 
the use of the cerebrum to a very high degree in the learning, 
comes to require a relatively small activity of the cerebrum 
and the function is carried on more and more by the 'auto- 
matic' action of the lower centers of the nervous system. In 
other words, when we improve in a function, the lower cen- 

86 



PROGRESS AND IMPROBABILITY 87 

ters increasingly assume the direction of the activities in- 
volved and leave the higher centers relatively free for the next 
new learning. The cerebrum also comes to act habitually 
and to do with ease and promptness that which was at first 
slow and difficult. Efficiency, mastery, progress in any line 
of endeavor involves the development of many well formed 
habits so that these activities, so to speak, 'go off' of them- 
selves when the right situation presents itself. All acquisi- 
tions, remember, become habits, and these habits are the bases 
for all further acquisitions. 

Progress lies then fundamentally in the development of de- 
sirable habits, and goes on according to certain laws, many of 
which we can at the present time state with a good deal of 
definiteness. What are the conditions of improvement in 
learning? 

Regularity and persistence. It has been said twenty min- 
utes a day for a year would give an average individual the 
fundamentals of practically any science which he would study 
with this regularity. Remember James' statement in his chap- 
ter on habit, the most frequently read and quoted chapter of 
psychology ever written. "Let no youth have any anxiety 
about the upshot of his education, whatever the line of it may 
be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour of the working day, 
he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can with per- 
fect certainty count on waking up some fine morning, to find 
himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in what- 
ever pursuit he may have singled out. Silently, between all 
the details of his business, the power of judging in all that 
class of matter will have built itself up within him as a posses- 
sion that will never pass away." 

This persistence is not easy. Man is inherently lazy. He 
needs the conditions, the suggestions, motives, incentives, those 
things which bring about the sustained attention and the per- 
manent interests. Teachers note that pupils do about as well 
as they are obliged to do. We often see authors settling down 
comfortably after they have produced books which bring them 
satisfactory incomes. And the fact is that we know very little 
about the highest degrees of improvement because it is so dif- 
ficult to get people to practise sufficiently long. 

Drill. The value of drill is clearly shown by Dallenbach. 
(20). In his experiment, twenty-nine 2nd grade public school 
pupils, of both sexes, were given daily for 17 weeks a ten min- 
ute exercise in rapid observation and reproduction of various 



88 



PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



visual materials, letters, digits, words, geometrical figures, etc. 
The results of the experiment show that the effect of drill 
was clearly persistent even after 41 weeks of no practice. 
Further, a special test by means of Binet's card of objects, 
showed that the practiced children were superior to their un- 
practiced schoolmates when tested in recall and description 
some 50 weeks later. (See figure 2.) 



Cta>ssc$ 



Weefo 

z 7 fr 



S8 




/I B C O 

Test Serces Figure 2, 



Fig. 2. Effect of practice on visual apprehensions (Dallenbach) 



Phillips (79) reports that a drill group in arithmetic made a 
much better gain than the non-drill group, being 12 per cent, 
better in fundamentals, 50 per cent, better in reasoning tests, 
and 31 per cent, better in the combined tests. 

Brown (12) summarizes results of some of his experiments 
as follows: "Five minute drill periods upon the fundamental 
number facts, preceding the daily lesson in arithmetic, were 
found to be beneficial in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. 



/oo - 
sec. 



J?£.7 sec 



O 
Sec 



b/.z. sec 



Figure 3 



Fig. 3. Reduction in time in adding 17 to 50 2-place numbers as affected by 
practice. Average results of one group during 17 trials after having had 35 
preliminary trials. (Hollingsworth, 31a). 



100 



o 

0/0 



PROGRESS AND IMPROVABILITY 89 



7/<fa accuracy. 
6f<?o speed. 




Figure 4, 



Fig. 4. Median reduction in time made by practice of 19 university students, 
who daily added for a week 48 columns of ten numbers. Total time of practice 
for each individual about one hour. (Thorndike, 112a). 



Benefit was not limited to improved mastery of the number 
habits, but included increased efficiency in arithmetical reas- 
oning." 

Results of practice in addition are shown also in the accom- 
panying figures. (Figs. 3 and 4). 

Use versus drill in memorizing. Kirkpatrick has given the 
results of a study in which he dealt with three methods and 
their value for the acquisition of arithmetic combinations in 
the multiplication of numbers. The problem was to learn the 
products of 7 multiplied by the prime numbers from 17 to 53. 
Various groups of students, including both children and adults 
were studied, three methods being used. The methods were, 
(1) to memorize and then use the knowledge, (2), to practise 
with the help of a key, and (3) to compute the products from 
former knowledge. He reports the value of the methods as 
follows : "It seems that memorizing apart from use is the poor- 
est method of all, drill in using somewhat better, (if there is 
not so much effort to attain speed that there is little incidental 
learning), while the method of using previous knowledge as a 
guide in practice is the best of the three The results indi- 
cate that in many lines of teaching there has been a tremen- 
dous waste of time, energy and interest in first memorizing, 
then later practising, the use of what has been learned." (53) . 

It is likely that these results found in arithmetic would be 
largely the same in other fields, although we must always be 
very careful about generalizing from one field to another. We 
may probably say that working things out for one's self is su- 



90 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

perior to memorizing or learning by use of a key or set of 
rules. There is reason to believe that the following methods 
from 1 to 4 indicate increasingly better ways of learning. 

1. Memorizing and then using. Poorest. 

2. Learning by use of a key or set of rules. Better, but not 
most economical. 

3. Learning by using former knowledge to work out re- 
sults. Better than methods 1 or 2. 

4. Learning by using former knowledge to work out re- 
sults plus the intention or purpose of memorizing. Probably 
the best of all. The value of intention to learn has been shown 
in another place. 

Definiteness of practice. The greatest improvement ap- 
pears to come from the most definite practice. This means 
that improvement is best and fastest when one practises di- 
rectly the thing to be done and not something else, not some- 
thing very like it, not a combination of things, but definitely 
and specifically the thing to be improved. In other words, if 
one desires to improve his ability to remember prose, he 
should practise memorizing prose; if one desires to improve 
in remembering poetry he should practise memorizing poetry; 
if it be in anatomy, study anatomy; if it be reasoning in phil- 
osophy and logic, study philosophy and logic; if it be reason- 
ing in law, study law; if it is stenography, study stenography, 
and further, if it is to write business letters, study and prac- 
tise writing business letters; if it is writing scientific matter, 
practise that; one does not practise in a canoe if he is in train- 
ing to win a boat race, nor does he practise swimming to gain 
improvement in the high jump. 

The whole point is that the mind works much more specific- 
ally than most people imagine; and one cannot train in one 
thing and have equal improvement in another; the fact is that 
he may have no improvement in the other activity, or further 
that there may be actual interference. (See chapter on Trans- 
fer of Acquisitions). The injunction, practise the thing you 
would improve in, does not mean, however, to attempt the 
higher habits before the lower habits are formed; that is, one 
does not attempt to play the pipe organ, nor to sing in opera 
at the outset; the principle indicated is that one should go as 
directly as possible to definite specific training in the habits 
desired. On the negative side one should avoid forming irre- 
levant habits; habits which have to be modified later or per- 
haps unlearned, so far as they can be unlearned. 



PROGRESS AND I'M PROVABILITY 91 

Lower and higher order habits develop together. Experi- 
ments have shown that lower and higher order habits develop 
together. For example, in learning a language the grasp of 
larger units comes along with the attempt to grasp smaller 
units. The telegrapher finds words coming along with letters, 
and, later, sentences coming with words. The context helps 
in learning to deal with parts. This fact indicates a psychol- 
ogical basis for beginning a foreign language with sentences 
instead of with words, or letters. It is perhaps too early to 
generalize fully, but it may be said that the direct method, 
which follows this procedure, is proving to be very econom- 
ical of time and effort, and it may prove to be the most econ- 
omical method with pupils of some if not of all ages. The 
great difficulty at present is to get teachers who can teach by 
this method. 

The order of learning. The suggestion has been made that 
the order of learning is important. Work done on text books 
during the last twenty-five or more years, gives evidence of the 
value of learning in at least a good order. It is a question as 
to whether there is a best order for any material; there is no 
question among teachers that a good order of presenting 
topics of or requiring habits to be formed is exceedingly val- 
uable. The best direction of action and the best order of 
things depend generally on the text or the teacher; these re- 
quirements for the best progress, even if there were no others, 
are sufficient to make it fully worth while to have the best 
teacher and the best text. Especially should the best teacher 
be had at the beginning so that the best foundation be laid; a 
poor teacher cannot do so much damage later; it is obvious 
also that a good teacher can carry one to a higher stage of 
mastery than a poorer teacher; so one should have the best 
teacher again for the most advanced work. 

Correct practice. One very fundamental and essential con- 
dition for economical progress, or perhaps, for any progress at 
all, is correct practice. Skilled players who are going into a 
tournament, tell us that it is better not to practise at all just 
before the game than to practice carelessly. Whatever one 
practises, one tends to do again in the same way. The old 
maxim, 'learn to do by doing/ must change to the maxim 
which is true to the laws of habit and which does not overlook 
those laws, namely 'learn to do by doing correctly.' 

The critical attitude. In experiments where the subjects 
know their scores, their successes and failures, thev make the 



92 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

best progress. The elimina lion of much waste lies in the pick- 
ing out of the correct responses and repeating them, and the 
picking out of incorrect responses and eliminating them. 
Without this the student fails to make the improvement he 
should. Nor could he expect to make very much improve- 
ment unless he can make the necessary distinctions between 
what should be continued and what discontinued. Here again 
appears the value of the teacher and of the best possible teach- 
er, the teacher who permits only the correct actions and eli- 
minates the incorrect responses. This does not mean that the 
student should not try for himself and make no mistakes. It 
does mean that after the student has made mistakes, they 
should be corrected and only the correct tendencies be allow- 
ed to develop into habits. 

When Fritz Kreisler emphasized the value of thoughtful 
practice he struck one of the keynotes of improvement. Not 
only should one be persistent and practice correctly, etc., but 
he must do more than mere mechanical repitition. The latter 
drills into the nervous system, it makes for habit, but is no- 
where so valuable as careful, thoughtful efforts. 

Improvement of methods. Professor James brought to our 
attention the fact that the secret of a good deal of improve- 
ment in memory lay in the improvement of methods. He re- 
fers to the experience of Mr. Thurlow Weed, who improved 
his ability to recall the events of the day by recounting them 
to his wife every evening. 

On this matter Professor James writes : "I do not doubt that 
Mr. Weed's practical command of his past experiences was 
much greater after fifty years of this heroic drill than it would 
have been without it. Expecting to give his account in the 
evening, he attended better to each incident of the day, named 
and conceived it differently, set his mind upon it, and in the 
evening went over it again. He did more thinking, about it, 
and it stayed with him in consequence. But I venture to af- 
firm pretty confidently, (although I know how foolish it often 
is to deny a fact on the strength of a theory), that the same 
matter casually attended to and not thought about, would have 
stuck in his memory no better at the end than at the beginning 
of his years of heroic self-discipline. He had acquired a bet- 
ter method of noting and recording his experiences, but his 
physiological retentiveness was probably not a bit improved. 
All improvement of memory consists, then, in the improve- 
ment of one's habitual methods of recording facts." (39). 



PROGRESS AND IMPROBABILITY 93 

Recent experimentation has shown the truth of James state- 
ment in relation to improvement of method. Nor can this be 
too much emphasized. A fundamental fact in the problem 
of improvement is that if one wants to improve in anything, 
he should improve his methods. There is no question as to 
the great generality of this principle. The only question is as 
to the extent of its applicability. 

The following study very well illustrates and emphasizes 
the importance of methods. 

Improvement in observational learning. The careful study 
of Dr. Foster on the effect of practice upon visualizing throws 
light upon the ways in which learning of this kind may im- 
prove. During 10 weeks three adult observers practiced on 
pictures, nonsense syllables, drawings, poetry, and objects. Dr. 
Foster writes: "Ability to reproduce increased with practice, 
although the increase was rapid at first and slow later. The 
greatest gain of final over initial ability was 44 per cent.; the 
least, 6 per cent. 

The chief reasons for the practice-improvements were : 

1. Confidence and 'doing one's best' replaced discourage- 
ment and 'giving up.' 

2. Familiarity with material lessened the difficulty. 

3. The observers learned where and how to distribute at- 
tention effectively. 

4. More efficient methods of work were adopted. Tricks 
of counting, naming, grouping, etc., were discovered and used. 

5. Regular and definite procedure replaced hap-hazard, 
unorganized procedure. 

In no case did practice increase the ability or even the ten- 
dency to visualize. The best reproducer of visual impress- 
ions was the poorest visualizer, and relied almost wholly upon 
verbal cues for recall. 

Our results show that the ability gained is very specific." 
(28). (See also 17). 

The feelings of satisfaction and of dissatisfaction. Let one 
be satisfied with one's efforts and progress is likely to stop. To 
be dissatisfied is one of the best indicators of better effort for 
improvement. Conscientious effort brings in better results in 
learning. As we have said before the feeling attitude, the re- 
alization of need for accomplishment, desire for the best re- 
sults, caring enough, etc., are real aids to progress. Or to be 
more accurate they are the psychical aspects of the disposi- 
tions which result in better work. 



94 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Can we work better when we are in the mood for it? Shall 
we wait until we feel like work in order to get the best results? 
We often do work better when we feel like it, but it is found 
that scores may be better on days when the subjects of experi- 
ments do not feel fit. Or a subject may feel very fit and ac- 
tually do poor work. There are many who say that they can- 
not do good intellectual work unless they are in the mood for 
it. We all know that valuable thoughts come to us when we 
are thinking of something else. We know the right idea may 
flash across our minds when we least expect it. Experiments 
seem to show, however, that in the long run, we are likely to 
do more and better work if we apply ourselves independently 
of our feelings. It certainly appears that the habit of depend- 
ing upon moods may be formed and much valuable time may 
be lost by giving way to them. 

Physiological conditions. Good physiological conditions 
evidently make for better intellectual work. Some discus- 
sions of this point seem to err by making the judgment of in- 
dividuals as to whether or not they felt fit the criterion of the 
physiological conditions. There are many cases where known 
illness correlated with poor work. School children have been 
found to improve after the removal of physical defects. Prop- 
er feeding improves study. The importance of the subject 
makes it worthy of discussion in a separate chapter. Here it 
is sufficient to emphasize the fact, that while progress may not 
be interfered with by not feeling well, it is interfered with con- 
siderably by not being well. 

The principle of completeness of response. Professor Pet- 
erson has called attention to a very important point which is 
undoubtedly too much overlooked in attempts to understand 
and explain improvement in learning. "There is no question 
that many of our attempted neural explanations involving one 
arc, or at best a few neural arcs, are altogether too simple ade- 
quately to explain in such physical terms as we desire how one 
act can survive over the other more or less random acts be- 
cause of its greater success in meeting the needs of the organ- 
ism In a complex condition such as we actually find in the 

nervous and muscular systems, where various more or less re- 
lated acts are involved in each reaction, some of these acts 
may be of an inhibitory nature to others under certain cur- 
cumstances, while occasionally under other conditions all may 
tend rather positively to aid or strengthen one another. These 
mutually inhibiting or reinforcing effects would be determined 



PROGRESS AND IMPROVABILITY 95 

not only by the nature and complexity of the stimulus but also 
by the inherited and acquired disposition — neural connections, 
bodily structure, etc. — of the organism" 

"In the case of the maze problem the animal on entering a 
cul de sac, — or any other path, in fact — responds more or less 
incompletely, because all the subordinate activities involved 
cannot take place at once. If the animal's progress is soon 
checked in a blind alley the animal is not seriously nonplus- 
ed. Certain elements of the general response are tending to 
drain into other alleys that may recently have been passed, 
thus partially dividing the animal's activity. These elements 
now prevail when the others are checked. Let us suppose 
that the correct path, A, has just been passed when the animal 
suddenly comes to the end of the cul de sac, B. The tenden- 
cies to respond to A ore still surviving and now direct the im- 
peded activity into this, the successful, path. If, on the other 
hand, the correct path had been chosen the first time the dis- 
tracting impulses toward B would have become fainter and 
fainter as the animal proceeded into A, and would have finally 
faded away. The principle is not different when the complex- 
ity of the situation is increased. When the food is finally 
reached all the remaining delayed reactions, the tendencies, 
still persisting, to go into other alleys recently passed, are re- 
laxed — the act as a whole is complete." (78). 

This principle, which is also called the overlapping of re- 
sponses, is worthy of the emphasis which Professor Peterson 
puts upon it. We are undoubtedly helped to a large extent 
by artificial simplifications in psychology; we are brought back 
to the real situation by statements like the above which em- 
phasize the great complexity of affairs. 

Improvement in subnormals. A study by Professor Wood- 
row, recently published, (121), suggests that subnormals can 
improve as rapidly and as well as normals in activities which 
are not beyond the mental grasp of the subnormals. Both 
normal and subnormal children, all about nine years old men- 
tally, were trained by means of a form sorting test. In his 
manuscript, Professor Woodrow concludes as follows: 'To 
sum up, in the present experiment, feebleminded children 
were found to show the same amount of improvement and to 
improve in accordance with essentially the same practice 
curve as normal children of the same mental age and same in- 
itial ability. While in both the feebleminded and normal 
groups there existed great individual variation, it was impos- 



96 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

sible to discover any effects of practice which were significant- 
ly different for the two groups." Also, "The conclusion is 
definitely indicated, that feebleminded children improve with 
practice the same as normal children of like mental age." As. 
noted by the writer the normal children might have been ex- 
pected to outstrip the subnormal children if the practice had 
continued for a very long period. Subnormal children do not 
change mentally as do the normal from one age to another. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Pick out several things in which you have made a good 
deal of improvement. For each of these what percent of pos- 
sible improvement do you think you have made? 

2. What obstacles have laid in the way of your improve- 
ment in things that you have attempted? 

3. Compare the value of mechanical drill with that of 
thoughtful practice. 

4. What is the value of improvement of methods in com- 
parison with any other aids to progress of which you can 
think? 

5. How does use play a part in progress in learning? Il- 
lustrate from school work and from other lines of activity. 

6. How much should one permit one's self to be affected by 
moods? 

7. How much difference do not feeling well and not being 
well make in progress? Which is more important, to be well 
or to feel well, and why? 

8. Mention some other factors that are involved in im- 
provement. 

REFERENCES. 
E. L. Thorndike. Educational Psychology. Vol. 2, The Psychology, 
of Learning. 1913. Espec. chs. 6 to 8 inclusive. 
Also see references at the end of chapter 8. 



Chapter 8. 

ARRESTS IN LEARNING AND THE LIMITS OF 

IMPROVABILITY. 

Are plateaus necessary in human learning? It is maintain- 
ed on good authority that there are no plateaus in animal 
learning. It is also believed by some psychologists that pla- 
teaus are not necessary in human learning. But other psy- 
chologists believe that they are in the natural order of events. 
Plateaus, it may be said, are arrests in learning; one learns 
but comes to a time when he either does not, or apparently 
does not, make any progress. It may be that he takes a 
'slump' and the work is actually poorer than previous work. 
The apparent arrest, may, as many believe, be only apparent; 
progress may actually be going on somewhere among the 
neurons. 

On the one hand we have the fact that progress after a pla- 
teau is very likely to be rapid. It may be inferred from this 
that there was no actual stop in progress but that the progress 
could not be observed. It simply did not appear in objective 
results. 

On the other hand nature seems to advance by fits and 
starts. Plants grow more at one time of the year than at an- 
other. In the growing child increase of weight appears more 
at one time and increase in height more at another. The fact 
stands that in most learning, whether in laboratory experi- 
ments or in our schools, individuals show advance at times 
and at other times fail to show advance. The practical con- 
clusions for us at present is that plateaus exist and that we 
have not been able to wholly eliminate them, especially under 
school and college conditions. We have therefore the prob- 
lem of understanding the conditions or causes of plateaus and 
the methods for making them as few as possible, of postpon- 
ing their appearance, and of overcoming them when they do 
appear. (54 and 109). 

The curve of learning. If we can represent in a kind of 
ideal way the progress of learning of different kinds, it can be 
done only by dropping out all the variations and differences 

97 



98 



PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



that appear in the different kinds of learning and giving a 
sort of approximate curve such as the one shown in Fig. 5. 



Figure 5 



Fig. 5. Approximate curve to represent a general average of facts in con- 
nection with progress of learning. (Thorndike, 109, p. 255).. 

The actual progress in learning, showing fluctuations, can 
be shown by curves which represent the progress of individ- 
uals in learning of different kinds. The presence of plateaus. 



St /so 






tfOo 


JiM 




IJoo 


iff 




ISoo 


^/^ 




/300 






//oo 






<?0O 






Jeo 


-ft 




Soo 


• 




3oo 


Figure 6. 




too 


__s — 1 1 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — t_ 





zo <a to so /oo /x.o 
Atnouyft of c*.erct\se i>? 4o U y^ 



Fig. 6. Improvement in typewriting by the touch method. Subject Y. (R*>o& 
10, p. 21). , 



ARRESTS IN LEARNING 



99 




*f 8 'Z '6 2o Z4 Z8 Jz 36 

Weeks of practice Figure 7. 

Fig. 7. Improvement in telegraphy. E. L. B. (Bryan and Harter, 13a), 




4 8 <2, /6 to &* ** 3iL J& *° 

CUeek j of pra.ctt.ee Figure 8. 



Fig. 8. Improvement in telegraphy. W. J. R. (Bryan and Harter, 13a). 






* 

*» 
5 

3 




zo 4a 60 80 f*6 

flmou.T>i of practice cry m cri ccies 



Fig. 9. Average curve of improvement of school children in column acltli 

tion. (Thorndike, 109, p. 254). 



100 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

is indicated in these curves, as is also the presence of slumps. 
See Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9. 

Progress at different stages of learning. It appears from an 
examination of the curves shown in the text that learning, so 
far as these curves go, is fast at first and later slows down. 
This is, in fact, what appears from most of the studies of learn- 
ing. It is not safe to generalize from one kind of learning to 
another and while the above facts may be true for most learn- 
ing, still we do not yet know this and we must take into ac- 
count such studies as those of Professor Swift in which learn- 
ing is found to be slow at first and then faster. 

In the study of Tossing and Catching Balls and in one On 
Learning Short-hand, Swift finds that the initial progress is 

slow and then very fast. As he puts it : " the learner 

seems to make no advance for a time and then springs to a 
higher level, perhaps only to fall back a little but, at all events, 
not to go higher until he has strengthened his position here." 

Also he writes: "I have found no evidence for one or two 
special periods of delay in progress in which preparation is 

made for a higher order of habits automitization is going 

on throughout the process." 

In discussing the rapid rise found at the beginning of other 
studies of learning than his own he writes : "This immediate 
rapid rise at the beginning seems to be true only of these 
things that have symbols or other devices for handling and 
presenting ideas, and it is probable that after this first spurt, 
the length of which would vary with different sorts of mater- 
ial, the general form of the curve for learning is concave until 
the physiological limit is approached. Telegraphing involves 
fewer symbols, and the distraction of deciding on sounds and 
abbreviations, that mark the learning of the Pernin short- 
hand system, would not so greatly disturb the beginner, and 
so, having less thinking and deciding to do at the start, the 
learner in telegraphy would probably go on improving with- 
out great set backs longer than the short-hand writer." (95). 

The effect of the learner becoming able to get the context 
appeared soon after the reading of the short-hand notes began. 
Occasional spurts occurred as a result. Later many spurts 
were noted and attributed to this cause. Swift thinks that 
early rapid rise in the learning of short-hand does not occur 
because of the lack of associations also and after many asso- 
ciations have had time to form they bring about the rapid 



ARRESTS IN LEARNING 101 

progress. Some concave curves are probably due to a faulty 
method of plotting. 

Progress and individual differences. Progress of individ- 
uals in the ordinary classes in our schools is made more diffi- 
cult because of the individual differences of the different 
pupils. A very few of the pupils are able to go very rapidly. 
Most of the pupils can go only at a medium rate. A number 
will be found who can keep up with the medium rate students 
only with great difficulty, and with special attention, or who 
cannot keep up at all. 

The best rate of progress for one pupil is not the best rate 
for another. It is doubtless true that for any given student it 
is right for him to go ahead at his own best rate. With small 
classes or with individuals it would be reasonably possible for 
the teacher to see that this was accomplished. If for no other 
reason, the possibility of better progress for all, would de- 
mand the best possible classification of pupils into the various 
classes. 

Sorting of pupils: "Opportunity classes." In many schools 
there are slower and faster classes of pupils who are doing the 
same work. This is often convenient and helpful. Where a 
school system is large enough it is advantageous if not ethic- 
ally the duty of the school authorities, for the children to be 
classified according to ability. Two percent, of a school pop- 
ulation can be picked out as especially bright and capable of 
fast progress. A larger percent are unable to do the average 
work of the average student. For the sake of the teachers and 
for the best progress of the individual pupils experience indi- 
cates that there should be special classes. There are many 
kinds of makeshifts for the purpose of letting the brilliant 
student get along faster and for getting the poor student up to 
grade but the special classes are the real solution. 

Such classes could be called opportunity classes. The 
pupils do not need to be tagged "supernormals" or "subnor- 
mals." In fact it is almost necessary that they do not be call- 
ed such. There is too much feeling aroused in the minds of 
both pupil and parent. But opportunity classes might be 
formed for both the bright and dull students. The bright 
students could go faster and do their better quality and quan- 
tity of work. For the less bright pupils there could be a mod- 
ified curriculum. They could be called upon to do the kind 
of work they can do and at which they can succeed and all be 
greatly benefitted. 



102 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

It is not the purpose of the writer to discuss at length the 
problem of special classes. But it is a matter which cannot be 
overlooked and one which teachers must more and more 
come to consider, where ever their school systems are large 
enough to permit of such a solution of individual differences. 
Going at the right pace for the great majority of pupils is go- 
ing too fast for the dull ones. And it is not at the present day 
sufficient to give the old solution : teach the dullest in the class 
and the rest will get the lesson. We must administer our 
schools so that all students, so far as is possible, will make the 
best progress that is possible for them. It is not, by the way 
the function of the bright pupil to stimulate the dull pupil. He 
is there to learn and not to be bored to his educational death 
by the pace required for the latter. It is the teacher's place 
to do the stimulating. 

Causes of plateaus. Plateaus are variously explained by 
different writers. We do not yet fully understand plateaus 
and their causes. It is possible to state many conditions 
which are directly correlated with plateaus. These should 
give us a fair basis for dealing with the problem involved. 
Future study must supply information as to what conditions 
are most important for particular subjects. 

The nature of the learner. The feeling attitude is likely to 
change as one goes on in a subject; the novelty wears off, and 
the first enthusiasm dies down; interest and effort are all too 
likely to wane. Add to this the laziness of human nature, 
faintheartedness, distrust of one's own ability, anxiety, and 
the feelings of discouragement and we have the secrets of a 
good many of the failures to get very far with anything. Dis- 
tractions at such a time can easily disturb and one may be 
wooed to a pleasanter task. Something else novel and easy 
makes the stronger appeal. Strong emotions, especially those 
that last for a long time, indicate conditions in the individual 
that are likely to interfere with progress. Adolescent changes 
are examples of this. As already indicated physiological con- 
ditions are important and bad bodily conditions interfere with 
progress. 

Defective training. Poor preparation is a cause of plateaus. 
Things are not sufficiently well learned; habits not fully form- 
ed interfere with the advanced work, with the formation of 
higher habits. Where habits are not fully formed and one 
attempts to take the next step in advance, the attention is con- 
stantly distracted from the new to the old activities. This is 



ARRESTS IN LEARNING 103 

a serious cause of trouble and may result in disturbing both 
stages of the activity, the one which is not fully made into 
habit, the other which should have undistracted attention so 
that it can be properly learned and reduced to habit. 

Growing complexity and critical stages. It is obvious that 
work gets more complex and difficult as one proceeds; there 
are fewer improvements to make, and these few are harder to 
make; the advanced work requires the perfecting of habits 
which takes a long time. We are fairly well acquainted with 
the critical stages that appear in certain kinds of learning, 
for example, in typewriting, and in telegraphing. Two such 
critical stages are commonly distinguished. There is the 
plateau which separates the first easy learning from the stage 
in which some little or perhaps fair proficiency is gained; the 
second plateau precedes the ascent from drudgery to a con- 
siderable degree of proficiency. Teachers often know just 
about the place in the student's progress in which to look for 
these plateaus and may give valuable aid and encouragement 
at such a time. The fact also appears that most people, stud- 
ents and teachers alike, have altogether too little experience 
with higher habits. We are just beginning to learn about the 
factors entering into the highest degrees of skill. 

Improper use of time and effort; poor methods. Plateaus 
are brought on by the improper use of time and effort. James 
long ago told us that improvement in memorizing lay largely 
in improvement of methods used. Several of our recent stud- 
ies show that much of the lack of progress is due to poor meth- 
ods. We are told that methods should never be left to chance. 
They should be carefully worked out and then improved as 
progress in the study shows that it is possible to improve them. 
Failure to make use of a proper distribution of time, so that 
intervals, and Jost's law, can help the learner, mean slower 
progress, if they do not actually bring about plateaus. 

The illusion of progress. In intellectual work one needs to 
be warned against the illusion of great progress which is like- 
ly to come with going over a large amount of material in a 
short time : the result in the long run is very often little actual 
gain and, especially, a relatively small degree of permanent 
retention. It was not vanity or conceit, but this fact which 
led a great scholar to remark that if he read as much as most 
of his colleagues did, he would know as little as they. 

The illusion of progress in a young child may occasionally 
he helpful in getting him to try to do his best. Children who 



104 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

have been given praise or good marks that they had not really 
earned have been known to live up to the praise, or the marks 
immediately afterwards. This suggests one of the factors that 
make for economic progress, namely, thoroughness of learn- 
ing. The quotation already made from Porter is apt. The 
phenomenal success of the lawyer was on account of his read- 
ing, not so much as his colleagues, but on account of his mak- 
ing it thoroughly his. Thorough learning, completely formed 
habits, do more for the avoidance of plateaus than one or- 
dinarily realizes. 

Observation of principles already mentioned. Many prin- 
ciples have already been mentioned whose observance make 
for avoidance of plateaus; regularity of practice and adher- 
ence to correct practice; definiteness of practice; practice of 
the thing to be learned and not something else; the avoidance 
of irrelevant habits; the right use of time and effort; the best 
number and frequency of practice periods and intervals, and 
the like. Learning in a good order; distinguishing the correct 
from the incorrect responses and eliminating the latter; satis- 
faction only with the correct actions and results. Improve- 
ment of methods, and the continual use of the best methods, — 
methods should never be left to chance; mastery of fundamen- 
tals before going to something dependent upon them. The 
best physical conditions; avoidance of getting mentally stale; 
independence of moods, rest and recreation when needed; 
forcing when one tries to get on the highest levels of perform- 
ance. 

Forcing one's self. The fact appears from experiments and 
from the experiences of those who have attained the highest 
degrees of skill that the only way in which to get to these very 
high stages is to force one's self. Forcing is not to be recom- 
mended if one is ill, or too nervous, or if he needs quiet, rest, 
and recreation to get him out of a rut or to remedy his having 
become stale. But granted a good healthy condition, to at- 
tain the highest stages of proficiency, only one thing will serve, 
namely, forcing. The learner must put forth his very best ef- 
forts, without forgetting, however, that short periods of this 
great effort are undoubtedly best, and that the best methods 
must be used. 

Colvin, in The Learning Process, very well summarizes the 
facts in connection with this matter of effort. He writes: 
"The value of putting forth a maximal effort to gain a perma- 
nent improvement has been emphasized, particularly by Bry- 



ARRESTS IN LEARNING 105 

an and Harter, who say: 'One conclusion seems to stand out 
from all these facts more clearly than anything else, namely, 
that in learning to interpret the telegraphic language, it is the 
intense effort that educates.' Swift, while agreeing with this 
conclusion in general, adds the caution that spurts cannot be 
relied on to accomplish this result. The effort must be sus- 
tained, not sporadic and haphazard. Book emphasizes the 
fact that a balance must be preserved between accuracy and 
speed. The imperfectly formed habits must be mastered be- 
fore substantial progress can be made. They should be ac- 
quired as rapidly as possible, but not so rapidly that speed 
shall be gained at the expense of accuracy, 'The desire to hurry 
on must be nicely balanced with due caution.' " (16). 

The effort to get to the highest efficiency may need to con- 
tinue not only months but years. In the higher stages of ex- 
pertness a little improvement often means that a man is many 
times more valuable in his line of work; this little improve- 
ment in the advanced stages may mean that a man is worth 
several thousand dollars more than formerly in his business. 

The limit of improvability. There is a point above which 
there are only diminishing returns for one who tries to reach 
a higher degree of expertness, and this point one must decide 
very largely for himself; some can go farther than others with 
profitable returns for the investment of time and energy; 
others reach their limits of profitable returns earlier. The de- 
mands of different individuals also make it advisable for each 
to determine the degree of expertness in any particular line 
he needs for his own best service. Let it be said again, how- 
ever, that most of us can improve far beyond our expectation 
if we only go about it rightly and keep persistently at it. In 
the problems and experiences of the expert one finds much 
that is closed to the student who goes only the little way that 
most people go; on the highest levels of endeavor one can find 
the keenest intellectual pleasure and the best and most lasting 
satisfaction. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. What is meant by plateaus and what is their probable 
nature? 

2. Can you mention studies in which you have noticed the 
presence of plateaus? in which learning has gone without 
plateaus? 



106 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

3. What are the characteristics of the curve of learning? 

4. How far is it safe to generalize from one kind of learn- 
ing to another kind? 

5. In what kinds of learning may we possibly expect no 
plateaus? 

6. Indicate several cases in which plateaus should be treat- 
ed by different methods. 

7. What should be done in order to avoid plateaus so far 
as possible? 

8. What educational benefits within the individual may 
come to one who makes himself a master of something? 

REFERENCES. 

E. J. Swift. Studies in The Psychology and Physiology of Learning. 
Am. J. Psychol. 14: 1903, 201 ff. 

Thorndike, E. L. Educational Psychology, Vol. 2, Psychology 
of Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1913. Chs. 6, t s 
8 and 9. Also Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, 1915, Chs. 14, 
15, 16 and 17. 

Whipple, G. M. Manual of Mental and Physical Tests. Warwick 
and York, 2nd Ed., 1914, Pt. 1 122 f., 136, 143, '219 f., 228, 234, 254 ff.> 
273 f., 286 ff., 295, 304 f., 315, 321 f. Pt. 2 405, 431, 452, 470 f., 482, 
491-494, 508-512, 550 ff., 580, 596, 601, 659. 



Chapter 9 

THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS: GENERAL 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

Most improvement is specific. We have said that if a 
student wishes to improve in anything, the best results come 
by practice in that one thing and not in something else. If he 
wishes to improve in memory for prose he should memorize 
prose; if in anatomy he should memorize anatomy; if in 
reasoning in logic and philosophy he should study logic and 
philosophy; if in reasoning in practical affairs he should study 
practical affairs. One can state the same thing negatively by 
saying that improvement in one subject does not give equal 
improvement in other subjects. This is in direct contradic- 
tion to the old view, that one could study certain disciplinary 
subjects and thus train the mind so that it would be equally 
able to do any kind of mental work. This is the doctrine of 
formal discipline, as it was called, and no one who has read 
the results of experiments on the matter can longer maintain 
its truth in this extreme form. 

Some transfers may take place. Neither can one who knows 
the facts deny that there may be some improvement in activi- 
ties other than those used; some general improvement so to 
speak; or, as it is generally termed nowadays, transfers of 
training from one field to another. Experiment has shown 
that improvement in one field may mean improvement to some 
extent in other fields. And, to go deeper into the problem, ex- 
periment has shown some of the factors which when learned 
transfer to another subject and the causes of these transfers. 
There may be transfer to help, that is, to cause improvement 
in another subject, or to hinder, that is to actually interfere 
with other performances in other subjects or lines of work. 
In brief, there is no training in anything which will make one 
equally able to do any other kind of work; there may be some 
improvement from one subject to another; there may be inter- 
ference from one subject to another; experiments show us 
further something of the nature of transfer and the causes or 
conditions of the transfer. 

107 



108 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

We are interested, then, in considering the nature and 
amount of improvement which may cross from one field to 
another; and the way in which we can make sure of the trans- 
fers where they are possible. But first we must be sure to 
eliminate certain things which might seem to indicate general 
improvement or transfer of training but which must really be 
explained on other grounds. 

Factors that complicate the discussion. We must be sure 
that what we attribute to study of some subject is not simply 
the result of the growth and normal development of the stu- 
dent; that is to say, an individual may do better in all subjects, 
not because he has put special attention on mathematics, or 
Greek, but simply because he is a year older. In the next place 
we must remember that men are not necessarily successful 
because they have studied hard subjects. It is likely that they 
had it in them to be successful whatever they studied, and 
being good students, having good stuff in them, was 
partially the cause of their choosing the hard subjects, and not 
the study of the hard subjects the cause of their success. It 
is undoubtedly true, of course, that the proper study of hard 
subjects was a valuable part of their training. 

Finally, one should not confuse the spread of training with 
the transfer of training. The improvement of one hand after 
the other hand is used is not due to transfer; when one hand 
is trained the use of the other is modified, if for no other 
reason, because the brain centers connected with the hands 
are modified and are better able to direct either hand; also, 
both hands may be somewhat active when one is being train- 
ed; or, again, the training of one eye which results in improve- 
ment of the other eye, most likely involves the use of both eyes 
in the training. Such things must be distinguished from the 
transfer of training. 

The extent of transfer. If now we consider the extent of 
improvement from one field to another, we have evidence 
from experiment to give us partial answer. Improvement has 
appeared, for example, in several ways. Judging the size of 
certain areas brought about improvement in judging the size 
of larger areas of the same shape and areas of different shape; 
improvement transferred was from 30 per cent, to 52 per cent, 
as great as the improvement in the judgments of the areas 
practised. Practice in estimating weights brought improve- 
ment in estimating heavier weights 39 per cent, as great as the 
improvement with the weights used in practice. But the 



THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS 109 

improvement in judging parts of speech that was 21 per cent, 
in reduction of time and 70 per cent, in reduction of omissions, 
gave a transfer to the judgments of other parts of speech in 
reduction of time of only 3 per cent, and an actual increase in 
omissions of more than 100 per cent. Here, then, we find 
training in one performance interfering with action in another 
performance. Other studies show that an improvement in 
one activity may bring about from 20 per cent, to 80 per cent, 
as much improvement in other activities. 

But they show also considerable interference. Increase of 
speed frequently brings about decrease in accuracy. Practice 
in writing digits for letters has helped in writing symbols for 
digits, but has interfered with writing digits for symbols, and 
the longer the drill was spread out in time the greater was the 
interference. Practice in memorizing some kinds of material 
has frequently helped memorizing other kinds of material, 
but, for example, drill in memorizing prose has hindered sub- 
sequent memorizing of nonsense syllables. Experiment and 
experience also show other interferences, for example, learn- 
ing to cross out certain letters may bring about interferences 
in crossing out other letters; learning to finger one kind of 
musical instrument makes a temporary interference with 
learning to finger some other kinds of instruments. Some 
experiments also point to the probable fact that the more ex- 
pert one is in a certain thing the greater interference may be 
found in changing to other operations which involve the habits 
that are developed to the point of expertness. 

In thinking of the transfers and the per cent of transfer 
that has just been mentioned, we must remember that these 
results were obtained under conditions which favored the 
transfer. Other experiments can be cited which show no 
evidence of any transfer whatsoever. We must therefore not 
assume that as many transfers or as large a percent of transfer 
ordinarily takes place in the course of the education of the 
students in our schools and colleges. All the evidence we have 
indicates that in the latter situation, transfers are less frequent 
and smaller in amount. 

The nature of transfer. We are also specially interested in 
knowing what it is that transfers; no small part of an educa- 
tion lies in acquiring those habits, or whatever they may be, 
which will help not only in the subject in whose studv they 
are learned but also in other situations of life. (See also ch. 
14). 



110 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

It is obvious that one cannot study a subject very thoroughly 
without in some way changing his point of view or his attitude. 
One is a different individual in so far as one has had added 
experiences; the nervous system is modified; the outlook of 
the person cannot be just the same as before, when one has 
studied a subject where careful and critical thinking has been 
demanded. A person is likely to be less inclined to accept 
statements unthinkingly; he may grow into the habit of asking 
the question, Is that true? or, in what way can I apply this fact 
to my work? Or a student may go into the laboratory and 
tend to react quickly and impulsively and to produce careless 
work with many details overlooked; but the demands of the 
course, if it be well taught, make the student more careful; 
he may now get into the habit of doing much better work; of 
being dissatisfied with careless work; of desiring to do and 
being pleased only with the better quality of work. So the 
experiences of life, influence of others, lectures, interviews, 
things read, may dispose one to act differently; to be more 
accurate, to be more sympathetic, to be more honest, or more 
neat, or more punctual. In short, one may learn from one 
situation or study that which will change his attitude, his dis- 
position, so that he will respond differently thereafter in many 
situations of life. 

Again, it is found that one may learn methods of doing 
things and transfer their use to other situations; methods of 
study may apply to all kinds of study; methods of handling 
apparatus, of memorizing, of grouping facts or of outlining 
material may be of wide application. Indeed the improve- 
ment found in many experimental studies is found to be due 
very largely if not almost wholly to better methods. These 
methods may apply to many other lines of work than that in 
which they are learned. 

The knowledge of facts may also transfer from the subject 
in which they are learned; they may be recalled and used in 
situations widely different; they may form the bases of judg- 
ments; and they may of course change the attitude and thus 
the response of the learner. 

Factors in transfer. Without attempting to classify we may 
mention the following transfers which have been reported by 
students of the problem: Improved methods, improved habits 
of attention and will; moral qualities such as diligence, per- 
severance, and intensity of application; method of orientation, 
that is to say, special training gives us ability to respond more 



THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS 111 

favorably in a new situation; better discrimination in the same 
field, for example, of colors, or of judging length of lines; 
facile adaptation of attention and control of mental imagery; 
adjustment to apparatus and to general conditions; special 
methods, general methods; habits of analyzing each new situ- 
ation, or of trying to induce variations instead of repeating an 
unsuccessful reaction time after time; confident and self- 
reliant attitude toward a new situation; habit of keeping up 
active attention during the course of practice, and of looking 
for improved methods and higher units, instead of settling 
down to a mediocre performance. 

We are told that : "Transfer is readiest in the realm of ideas : 
and the more definitely a method of work, either special or 
general, has been conceived and formulated, the wider is the 
field of its probably usefulness. It may be remarked in pass- 
ing that all these admittedly possible forms of so-called trans- 
ference when taken together, amount to a tolerably complete 
summary of the most essential factors in what is popularly 
included in the training, or culture of the mind." (55). It is 
worthy of note also to recall the early conclusion of Wood- 
worth and Thorndike: "The mind works in great detail, 
adapting itself, of necessity, to the particular material with 
which it has to deal; and, therefore, that training in one per- 
formance could only help another when the two had elemen- 
tary factors in common." The study has only begun, and we 
must wait patiently to know more about what is transferable 
and from what subjects, and especially by what methods, the 
greatest number and the most important transfers can be had. 

Transfers, though possible, may not take place. It must be 
remembered that while transfers are often possible, they may 
not take place. In fact, we cannot expect them to take place 
unless certain conditions of transfer are present. Two stu- 
dents may study the same thing, one getting a transfer or 
transfers to other situations, the other getting no transfer; or 
the same student may at one time study so as to get transfers, 
and at another time he may study so that he will fail to get 
any transfer. 

The conditions of transfer. We may now ask what condi- 
tions are necessary in order to secure transfers where they are 
possible. This question can be answered, at least partially, 
from the results of experimental studies. Certain conditions 
have been found to bring about transfer, whereas, the transfer 
failed to take place when these conditions were absent. Bagley 



112 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

found, for example, that a child might be taught to be neat in 
writing papers for one subject but that he would not thereby 
learn to be neat in other subjects; later investigations showed 
that when the child was roused to have the ideal of neatness, 
the habit transferred in many cases to papers in other subjects. 
The presence of the ideal of the habit to be transferred is, 
then, one of the conditions of transfer. Being definitely con- 
scious of the thing to be transferred and making the attempt 
to transfer it, that is, trying to apply it to some other situation 
makes the transfer more likely. (9). 

Judd tells us that "Transfer depends on the power of gener- 
alization. The first and most striking fact which is to be 
drawn from school experience is that one and the same subject 
' matter may be employed with one and the same student with 
wholly different effects, according to the mode of presentation. 
If the lesson is presented in one fashion it will produce a very 
large transfer; whereas if it is presented in an entirely differ- 
ent fashion it will be utterly barren of results for other phases 

of mental life A teacher can teach birds and plants in 

such a way as to arouse a minimum of ideas in the student's 

mind On the other hand, the same subject matter may 

be taken by a different teacher, and under other methods can 
be made vital for the student's whole thinking. James cites 
the example of his own experience with a smoking student- 
lamp. He discovered by accident that the lamp would not 
smoke if he put something under the chimney so as to increase 
the air current, but he did not realize that what he had done 
was only one particular example of the general principle that 
combustion is favored by a large supply of oxygen. The gen- 
eral principle and its useful application belong to a sphere of 
thinking and experience which the untrained layman has not 
yet mastered." (51). 

In this connection it is fitting to recall the interesting foot- 
note which Karl Pearson thought it worth while to add to the 
discussion of scientific method in his Grammar of Science. 
"Personally," he writes, "I have no recollection of at least 90 
per cent, of the facts that were taught me at school, but the 
notions of method which I derived from my instructor in 
Greek grammar (the contents of which I have long since for- 
gotten) remain in my mind as the really valuable part of my 
school equipment for life." (77). 

Transfers actually taking place in our schools. The writer 
has made an attempt to discover transfers and the causes of 



THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS 113 

transfers that are actually taking place in education. The 
observers were to record things that had been learned in one 
study or situation which they found active, either to help or to 
hinder, in other studies and situations. Six observers worked 
systematically and reports were also had from several college 
classes. Many of the things mentioned were too indefinite to 
be of much value. But there was considerable concurrence in 
certain respects. And the value of these reports lies largely 
in the fact of corroboration by different observers who re- 
ported independently of one another. 

Those conditions recurring in the reports of both systematic 
observers and students in my classes include the following : 
Realization of advantage or usefulness or importance of the 
thing that transferred. Feeling of need or actual demand for 
application. Desire to use, or to apply, desire for results, 
interest, desire to improve. A few observers mentioned for 
many transfers, the continuance of a well formed habit or of 
the use of a method that had become thoroughly habitual. 
Some observers recognized that a combination of some of these 
conditions had been the cause of the transfers. In a number 
of cases these observers also mention the method of instruc- 
tion of their teacher as being the cause of the transfer. The 
teacher, in other words, had aroused in them the desire to 
apply what they learned, had shown them the advantage of so 
doing and had shown them how to make the application. 

We must undoubtedly conclude that there are various con- 
ditions of transfer; others that we have not yet discovered may 
be found; whether or not they can all be reduced to a single 
type is a question and it is, perhaps, too early to attempt to 
decide this matter. 

Maxims for bringing about transfers. If we were to state 
maxims for getting transfers and for directing our education 
so that the greatest amount of desirable transfer could be had, 
the following might be stated: Choose those subjects in which 
there is the largest number of things common to many situa- 
tions in life. Choose the best teacher, and sometimes choose 
the teacher instead of the subject. Form the habits and learn 
the methods that can be used helpfully in many situations. Be 
conscious of the "notion" of idea of method and form the habit 
of applying what is learned. Have the ideal of the thing to be 
transferred. Try to generalize. Realize the value or advan- 
tage of making transfers. Cultivate valuable attitudes and 
points of view. 



114 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Mentioning these things as we have emphasizes the fact that 
transfers depend upon the student, and upon the ways of 
doing things, as well as upon the teacher. The teacher should 
also remember that he must help the student to do the things 
mentioned above. Standards should be set according to the 
point of progress of the student, ideals should be made con- 
scious in the student, and no teacher should accept inferior 
work. 

Transfers and the choice of subjects. From the psycholog- 
ical point of view the student has at least two main problems 
in the choice of subjects so far as he has any choice. On the 
one hand, he should have a specific training for something; a 
training which shall make it possible for him to do something 
and to do it well. On the other hand he has the problem of 
general education, as it is called, of learning those things, and 
of becoming acquainted with those fields which will make him 
a possessor of the common heritage of his people, which will 
give him that common knowledge and insight into the activi- 
ties and institutions of the people with whom he will live. 
When he may choose, then, he should choose those subjects 
which give him the information and insight and acquaintance 
with things that are required of the educated person, making 
the choice such that he will study subjects which have the 
largest number of elements in common with future living, and 
which will demand of him the formation of those habits which 
will be the most useful later; and wherein he will learn the 
best ideas of method, and the highest ideals, and be aroused 
to the desire to apply what he has learned. It is, therefore, as 
we have already said, not merely a choice of subject matter, 
but also a choice of teachers, since one teacher may teach so 
that many transfers result and another teacher fail altogether 
in this respect. 

A subject supposedly of high disciplinary value may be 
taught so as to be of less disciplinary value than any other well 
taught subject. That is to say, the demands that are put upon 
the student, the way in which he studies, are perhaps, of more 
importance than the subject itself. Certain subjects are or 
may be of more disciplinary value than others, because they 
offer better opportunities for, or demand better use of, the 
student's intellectual activities. But again, the subjects that 
are not supposed to be of high disciplinary value may be 
studied so as to be of great disciplinary value. Remember 
that the most valuable thing is the right use of the mind, the 



THE TRANSFER OF ACQUISITIONS 115 

formation of the right habits of study, the gaining of the right 
ideas of method and habits of method, attaining the highest 
ideals and the desire to apply. It should be added that the 
student should study subjects hard enough to call out his best 
efforts, subjects which appeal to him as worthy of his powers. 
The value of intensive study. The sufficiently intensive 
study of some one thing may broaden a student in a way of 
which he never dreamed. Tennyson suggested that if we 
knew enough about the flower in the crannied wall, we would 
know what God and man are. All knowledge may be likened 
to a ball and all parts of this knowledge may be likened to 
lines which lead from the surface to the center; these lines are 
interconnected. If we should go deep enough on any one of 
these lines we would approach this center; and if we should be 
thorough as we go along we should work out on many inter- 
secting lines. We would thus travel far towards the center 
of knowledge and at the same time learn much of the related 
subjects. In other words, thorough intensive study may at the 
same time be broad. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Distinguish between the old statement of The Dogma of 
Formal. Discipline and the present day statement of The 
Transfer of Training. 

2. Why is the old extreme view impossible to accept? 

3. What kinds of general improvement may take place? 

4. To what may improvement be due besides transfers of 
training? 

5. What improvements have you ever made in one field 
and thereby made improvement in other fields? 

6. Discuss the value of taking one subject for improvement 
in general. Be sure to deal with both the positive and nega- 
tive aspects of the problem. 

7. If a person wanted to make certain kinds of improve- 
ment, what advice would you give him in regard to making 
that improvement most economically? 

8. Discuss the value of general improvement even though 
it be small in amount. 

9. Is it advisable to take a subject in school purely for its 
disciplinary value? 

10. On what general principles should one choose subjects 
in school or college? 



116 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



11. Where general improvement is possible how would you 
make sure of getting it? 

REFERENCES. 

Bagley, W. C. The Educative Process. The Macmillan Co., 1906, 
Ch. 13. 

Colvin, S. S. The Learning Process. The Macmillan Co., 1911. Chs. 
14, 15 and 16. 

Coover, J. E. Formal Discipline from the Standpoint of Experi- 
mental Psychology. Psychol. Rev. Mon. Series., Vol. 20, No. 3, Jan. 
1916. Whole No.'87., Pp. viii, 307. 

Heck, W. H. Mental Discipline and Educational Values. 2nd Ed.» 
1911. 



Chapter 10. 
MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION. 

The modern conception of memory. The modern concep- 
tion of memory leads us to think of it as a form of habit; (66), 
the recall of facts in memory is brought about in much the 
same manner as all habitual response. In other words, the 
making of memories makes at the same time dispositions in 
the nervous system, opens certain paths of discharge, and the 
more practice, the more easily and certainly will these paths, 
these dispositions, act or function again as they functioned 
before if only the right stimulus comes along. 

Memory is commonly thought of as being a "storehouse" of 
ideas. Rut, if we wish to hold to that gross notion, we must 
remember two facts; first, that memories change by subtrac- 
tion, dropping out of details; a memory is not as full or ac- 
curate a few days or weeks after the learning as at first; and, 
second, that memories change by addition; addition from 
later experiences, perceptions and other memories, and also 
from the creative imagination. The psychology of testimony 
gives us ample illustration of both kinds of change. The 
"storehouse" idea is, then, misleading. Memorizing is prac- 
tice for recall; learning a skillful act is also practice for recall; 
the first being recall of nervous activities which reinstate with 
greater or less accuracy the ideas desired; the second being 
the recall of nervous activities which bring about the desired 
actions. 

Another fact is that the term memory itself is likelv to be 
misleading. We have many memories, or many kinds of 
memories, and that is a fundamental fact that should be kept 
in mind. Psychology has not far to look for proof of the ex- 
istence of many memories. The successful business man may 
have good memories for many kinds of things, but he fre- 
quently has a good memory for his line of work and miserably 
poor memories for other things; students who have memorized 
a great deal of one kind of material, do not find a correspond- 
ing improvement of ability in memorizing other kinds of 
material; pathological cases show loss of one kind of memory 
while the other memories remain unchanged. We have, then, 
not memory, but many memories. 

117 



118 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

The conditions of memory. The secrets of good memories 
have been partly revealed in the preceding chapters. For the 
way to get the best results in memory is to have the right con- 
ditions for study and study according to the best methods. As 
Watt puts it, "Do not try to improve your memory. Try to 
learn better." 

All the conditions which we can name for attention and for 
observation are also conditions of memory and help to de- 
termine what and how well we shall remember. Attention is 
a prime condition of memory. The factors that determine 
attention, are, then, determinants of memory so far as they 
function. (See chapters on Making the Appeal to the Student, 
and Attention and Sustained Effort.) 

In like manner all the factors that make for the right feel- 
ings make also for memory : the arousal of instinctive tenden- 
cies, curiosity, emulation, etc., the suggestion that brings the 
right set or mood, the control of bodily conditions and action, 
acquiring pleasing or valuable knowledge, having a purpose, a 
determination, and especially an intention to remember. 

Association is the grouping of impressions, and the primary 
law, so called, of association is that conscious processes are 
likely to recur with those conscious processes with which they 
earlier appeared; given, that is to say, any conscious process, 
as it appears, any or all processes that were earlier associated 
with it are likely to appear. But it must be remembered that 
they may have been together under any one of many different 
circumstances, — with attention or with inattention, clearly or 
vaguely, for a long time or for the briefest moment, on only 
one occasion or at a number of times. These other factors, 
besides the mere being together, are also factors that de- 
termine our memories. Mere association would not neces- 
sarily make for retention. Ability to recall depends upon the 
conditions under which the associations are made. 

These conditions indicate what are called the secondary 
laws of association of which the following are the most im- 
portant: (some have already been mentioned but are included 
in the following list) attention, feelings, emotional impress- 
iveness, 'will,' want or need, feeling of social pressure, fre- 
quency of repetition, duration of the stimulus, vividness, re- 
cency, primacy, age, regularity, number of previous connec- 
tions, order of learning, rate of learning, distribution of time, 
nature of material, divisions of material, length of material, 
logical connection, rhythm, warming up period, hardening 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 119 

period, fatigue, physiological conditions, habits, individual 
differences, number of senses involved, — all are given as de- 
terminants of memory. 

Vividness, frequency of repetition, duration, recency, and 
primacy. Attention and feeling disposition are prime con- 
ditions of good memory; so are the factors of vividness, fre- 
quency of repetition, duration, recency and primacy of im- 
pression. It needs no argument or example to prove that 
vividness of impression means greater likelihood of retention; 
emotional impressiveness, pleasantness or unpleasantness, the 
whole feeling reaction, may be important solely for the vivid- 
ness of impression which accompanies it. It is a question 
how many of the other factors mentioned could not be reduced 
to a matter of vividness. We shall discuss them separately. 

Frequency of repetition. The law most commonly recog- 
nized and most frequently relied upon is that of frequency of 
repetition; it is pretty certain that if a thing is repeated a suffi- 
cient number of times it will leave some impression. What is 
said later about the presence of the intention to remember, 
indicates the limitation of this law however. Drill work in 
the schools which was once very popular became less so as 
teachers began to emphasize the need of the pupil's under- 
standing everything he learned. But experiments have shown 
that while the understanding is very important, the repetition 
is also important, and drill is rightly -becoming fashionable 
again. Again, let us say, understanding is an immense aid in 
memorizing. But it has not proved to take the place of fre- 
quency of repetition. 

The duration of any impression naturally has much the 
same effect in deepening an impression. Thoughts aroused 
by a hasty skimming of the daily paper, the hundred and one 
ideas that flit through the mind in the course of the day, are 
generally doomed to an early oblivion. But the ideas that are 
held until they are once clear, the thoughts that are turned 
over in the mind, are impressed and associated with other 
thoughts, and are proportionately more likely to be remem- 
bered. 

An accumulation of repetitions. Meumann has made a 
careful summary of facts in connection with an accumulation 
of repetitions and we cannot do better than quote his conclu- 
sions: "What is the effect," he asks, "of an accumulation of 
repetitions of any given material? Let us assume that a 
material which, so far as its amount is concerned, can be 



120 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

learned perfectly well at a single sitting is learned until it can 
be repeated once from memory. What now is the effect of 

additional repetition? According to the experiments of 

Ebbinghaus the extra repetitions gradually become less and 
less effective so that, for instance, a disproportionately large 
number of repetitions must be employed in order not only to 
attain the first recitation from memory, but to imprint the 
material so indelibly upon memory that it can be repeated 
without error at the end of twenty-four hours, or can be re- 
tained permanently. This observation was, in general, con- 
firmed by Weber and by Knors; but these investigators also 
show that a process of learning which has been continued only 
to the point where a first recitation from memory is just barely 
possible does not by any means guarantee a complete mastery 
or a permanent retention. Many additional repetitions are 
still necessary before a lasting retention is attained. It is clearly 
evident that immediate reproduction is a potent factor even in 
this process of 'first correct recitation' ". 

Continuing, Meumann writes: "Certain important rules for 
the practice of teaching may be derived from the foregoing. 

1. The mere act of learning a material until it can barely 
be reproduced never secures a permanent retention in the case 
of nonsense material of considerable bulk, even up to ten or 
twelve syllables; in the case of significant material it very 
seldom secures a permanent retention. From this it follows: 

2. That for everything which is to be retained permanently, 
a subsequent 'freshening' by means of additional repetitions is 
indispensible. It follows, too, 

3. That we should not be content to regard the ability 
barely to recite it from memory as an indication that a 
material has been memorized. Really permanent retention or 
complete mastery demands many more repetitions for its 
achievement. We see here how important the factor of 
mechanical learning is for genuine memorial function. That 
which is to become an imperishable possession of memory, — 
not as a part of one's systematized body of knowledge, but 
only as a datum of concrete cognition, — can be acquired only 
at the cost of many repetitions. 

4. If we wish, at a single sitting, to learn a material so per- 
fectly that it will be retained permanently we must devote an 
excessive number of repetitions to it; and even then the result, 
so far as permanent retention is concerned, will remain in 
doubt." (67). 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 121 

Primacy and recency. "First impressions are lasting;" and 
other things being equal the most recent experience makes the 
deepest impression. We remember the first story in the old 
school reader, and carry away most clearly the ideas expressed 
by the last speaker. Other factors modify the working of 
these, of course. Other laws of memory are working at the 
same time. For example, the first impression is likely to de- 
termine the feeling disposition. But the most recent im- 
pressions, on the other hand, have the advantage of being left 
without interference by succeeding impressions. Both laws, 
primacy and recency, are exceedingly important. Each may 
be disturbed by the other, or by still other laws. 

The teacher may of course take advantage of several laws 
in the presentation of material. That material which he 
specially wishes to be remembered he may present at the out- 
set, thus taking advantage of primacy, he may refer to it 
several times during the presentation, thus having repetition, 
and in conclusion he may bring this material together in a 
summary so as to take advantage of the law of recency. 
> Distribution of repetitions. The time element enters into the 
learning in other ways than those already indicated. Jost's 
law, as already indicated, states that "Of two associations 
which are of equal strength but of different ages, the older 
receives the greater intensification from a new repetition." 
That is to say, the older memory can be relearned more quick- 
ly if it has faded. 

The practical significance of this law is, for example, if one 
has to memorize material that will take approximately six 
hours, he should divide the time, and thus give an opportunity 
to make associations at different periods, which means the 
opportunity of refreshing older impressions. The same law 
indicates one of the reasons for having children learn many 
valuable things early in life, the earlier the better. 

Besides the advantage of having older associations to 
strengthen by this division of study periods, there is another 
in the activity that continues during the intervals between 
study. Improvement is often found at the beginning of study 
periods which points to the making of progress during the in- 
tervals; the nature of the activities that bring about this 
progress is not definitely known. Perhaps the learning pro- 
cesses actually continue after one stops the studying. Perhaps, 
and what is more likely, partly formed bad habits tend to drop 
out, to be weakened or lost during the intervals of practice. 



122 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

In this way inhibitions or interferences are eliminated. 

Reviews and the division of time. Reviews are important 
for preparation for advanced work, they are important when 
one is preparing for an examination that covers a term's or a 
year's work. One of my advanced students who has taught 
history for a number of years found that the surest way to get 
her pupils through the state examinations was to organize the 
work so that the most important things recurred systematically 
and were thus reviewed several times during the course. This 
teacher tells me that the suggestion came from another in- 
structor and proved so successful that, whereas, her pupils 
formerly often failed in the state examinations, she now suc- 
ceeded in preparing as many as forty pupils and with not a 
single failure in the examinations. 

In preparation for advanced work, probably the best method 
for the student is to go through the previous notes or text or 
both and mark the things that need to be reviewed. Then the 
student should concentrate on these things until they are thor- 
oughly learned. 

Experimental study of the value of reviews for a short as- 
signment. In a preliminary study the author has made ex- 
periments with sixth, seventh and eighth grade, high, and 
normal school students, to discover the relative value of 6V2 
vs. 4 plus 2y 2 minutes study of a page of difficult history, a 
page of easier history, and a page of introduction to the metric 
system. Fourteen classes were tested. Each class was divided 
into a review and a non-review group. The review groups 
studied a page of history mimeographed, for 4 minutes, then 
wrote that they could remember for exactly 12 minutes. 
Later they reviewed for 2% minutes. The non-review groups 
studied for 6y 2 minutes at one time and then wrote for exactly 
12 minutes. In some experiments the non-review groups 
studied at the same time that the review groups studied. In 
some experiments they studied when the review groups had 
their review. In this way the factor of recency was checked 
up. Both groups were later given an examination at the same 
time. The groups were divided on the basis of scholarship 
according to school grades. Fourteen experiments were made 
with fourteen different classes. In all there were 730 cases. 
Experiment 1 was done with a page of history that was too 
difficult. Experiments 2-9 were done with an easier page of 
history. Experiments 10-14 were on the metric system. In 
experiments 1-3 the review groups had the advantage of re- 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 



123 



cency. In all other experiments the review groups reviewed 
at the same time the non-review groups studied so that neither 
groups had the advantage of recency. 

"The average superiority of the review groups in the first 
three experiments where the review groups had the advantage 
of recency is 93 per cent. The average superiority in the other 
experiments is 67 per cent, and if we eliminate experiment 12, 
it is just less than 30 per cent. The extreme result in the 
twelfth experiment is due to the fact of several failures and 
near failures in the non-review group." (24). (See Fig. 10). 
The experiments without exception show that the division of 
time so as to allow a short review period is valuable. It is 
generally known that the division of time for large amounts 
of material is very important. As suggested in the article just 
quoted, it may be that the value of reviews is directly propor- 
tional to the difficulty of the learning. 




^ 180 7f Z/ /? £4 Z& 38 /4 3f SO 3f 44o 3o z? 
Tests-. / £ 3 4 r 6 7 8 f /O // fZ /3 /4 

Fig. io. The lower curve represents the non-review, the upper curve the re- 
view groups. Superiority of review groups in percents in experiments I to 14 
is as follows, respectively: 180, 79, 21, 17, 24, 22, 38, 14, 39, 50, 3s, 440, 30, 27'. 



The "warming up" period. The division of time involves 
other factors: the "warming up" period, the "hardening" 
period, and fatigue. The nervous system works very much 
like a machine. If one watches a lathe as the turner begins 
work in the morning, one notices that after the belt is thrown 
on the lathe starts, gathers speed, and is soon going merrily. 
After a moment or two the observer notices a continuing in- 
crease of speed; the machine is getting "warmed up" and for 
the first few minutes does not attain its greatest speed. So 
with the nervous system and mental activity: the first few 



124 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

minutes do not give the best results, and a study period should 
be long enough to allow taking advantage of the warming 
period. 

Fatigue. At the other end of the study period there is the 
factor of fatigue. This, as has been said, is to be distinguished 
from weariness or the feeling of fatigue. This feeling is not 
an index of actual fatigue; the feeling may come prematurely 
on account of lazy habits of stopping long before one is really 
tired, or, if frequently disregarded when one is working long 
hours, perhaps with insufficient sleep, the feeling may fail to 
appear and be a warning against overwork. Experiment 
shows that the time during which the same quantity and 
quality of work can be sustained can be lengthened greatly 
over what is commonly believed. Eight, ten and twelve hours 
have been tried successfully, for example, in multiplication 
work. 

This does not prove, however, that very long hours of study 
are the most economical and best in the long run for study or 
for health. The fact is that fatigue lowers the quality and 
lessens the quantity of work and is to be avoided. The fact is, 
also, that work for fairly long periods is less harmful than has 
been supposed, and that a good deal of the injury attributed 
to work and study is the result of poor bodily conditions, in- 
sufficient fresh air, sleep, exercise, proper food, and the 
presence of abnormal emotional states. In fact, one way to 
improve the memory is to improve the physical conditions. 

The "hardening" period. It has further been found that one 
can take advantage of what has been termed the "hardening" 
period. This is the period immediately following a study 
period. If, during a few minutes directly after study, one lets 
his mind dwell on the subject of study, permits no distractions, 
no other thoughts to come, does not turn his attention to some 
other topic, the things learned will have a chance to sink in, 
so to speak; interference with the ideas will be avoided; the 
associations just made will not be broken up. Three or four 
minutes may very profitably be used as a hardening period. 

The value of comparatively short periods. Experiment has 
shown us more in regard to the division of time. Economy 
requires avoidance of fatigue, elimination of the over long 
study period; economy may also be gained under some cir- 
cumstances, at least, by the use of very short periods. In 
memorizing non-sense syllables, Ebbinghaus found that for 
later relearning, thirty-eight repetitions distributed over three 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 



125 



Number of 
Substitutions 



Figure 11 




3 4 6 8 



13 14 16 18 30 33 34 



Fig. n. Relative value of io, 20, 40 and 120 minute periods. Substitution 
Test. (Starch, 92a). The curves, from highest to lowest, respectively, represent 
results of the 10, 20, 40 and 120 minute periods, the results being checked twen- 
ty-four times, and at five-minute intervals. 

days were better than sixty-eight repetitions in one sitting. 
Jost, using non-sense syllables and making experiments with 
three divisions of time found two repetitions a day for twelve 
days best, four repetitions a day for six days, next best, and 
eight repetitions a day for three days poorest. Starch requir- 
ing the association of letters with numbers and the transpos- 
ing of grouped numbers into prose, reports ten and twenty 
minute periods of practically the same value, the former 
slightly better. A forty minute period considerably poorer 
than either and a two hour period poorest. (See Fig. 11.) 

Dearborn (21), with the same kind of material and problem, 
found that one ten minute period was better than two five 
minute periods per day. Pyle (80) has experimented with 
adults in the learning of alphabet characters. He found that 
30 minutes a day gave better results than 15, 45, or 60 minutes. 
He concludes that the second practice qn the same day is not 
as valuable as the first, and that after a few practices, further 
practice on the same day is useless. In learning to run the 
typewriter the results were somewhat different. In the 
acquisition of skill in this experiment Pyle found that concen- 



126 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

trated practice, — about 5 practices the first day, — was econ- 
omical. Later on the distributed practice again proved to be 
most economical. (81). 

It is generally dangerous to draw conclusions from one kind 
of material to another. But it appears that for many kinds of 
material, at least, fairly short periods are not only economical, 
but far better than longer periods. Experience and experi- 
ment seem to show that for the working out of ideas, solving 
problems, writing essays, and the like, longer periods may not 
only be better but that they may be absolutely necessary. 

Immediate and permanent retention. Many associations. 
The factors that make for immediate retention for a first ac- 
curate recitation, for example, great concentration of effort 
for a short time, many repetitions during one sitting, do not 
make in the same way for permanent retention. While a 
thing may be learned for immediate recall by great effort and 
vividness of impression, psychologists have no two opinions 
in regard to the need for many associations with the thing to 
be remembered if it is to be long retained. That is to say the 
material to be remembered for a long time must be assimilat- 
ed, it must find its place in the thinking of the student. It must 
be gone over again and again, and this means time, and better 
yet, distributed time; time divided into different periods as 
has just been shown. 

It is just this going over day after day, this using at frequent 
intervals that makes permanent and sure the recall of facts 
by the teacher, the business man, the doctor, the man in any 
line of work. Constant use means frequent repetition and 
many associations and as a result permanent acquisitions. If 
one realizes the thousands of impressions made through the 
eye and ear and the other senses in the course of only one 
hour, it will be seen that it is extremely valuable that the in- 
dividual soon forget most of the impressions that are made 
only once. For the course of his thoughts would otherwise be 
continually disturbed with worthless memories constantly 
usurping the place of useful information and relevant think- 
ing. It is again extremely valuable that the things gone over 
again and again are the things that become permanent for 
these are the things useful in every day life. 

Cramming. Cramming, it will now be seen, becomes a 
matter of making impressions which will last only a short 
time, for the failure to go over again and again, to review at 
different periods, means a lack of associations, a lack of as- 



1 \ 

MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 127 

similation, and hence, a lack of permanency. Cramming 
therefore fails for retention that is to last any greaTlength of 
time. But cramming, on the other hand, is not to be con- 
demned for other purposes. Some material is valuable only 
for a short time; furthermore some professions demand the 
ability to cram; the lawyer, the public speaker, the business 
man, the actor, all are required to learn a fairly large number 
of facts at short notice; very often this knowledge need not be 
remembered for a long time. The ability to cram is, there- 
fore, a valuable asset; this the student soon learns, — to his 
delight, if he is able to do it well and wishes to pass an exam- 
ination* — to his sorrow, if he hopes to retain the information 
after the examination. 

The student, then, must choose: either to depend on cram- 
ming, and to find that, outside the good or bad results of the 
examination, all that he has left is the ability to cram: or to 
take more time, to review at different times, to form the 
necessary associations and have a surprising amount of in- 
formation when he gets through.. Cramming is after all 
neither good nor bad, but like almost everything else, it is 
good for some purposes and inadequate for others; the ability 
to cram is likely to be a valuable asset to anyone. It is pos- 
sible to learn to cram for more permanent retention. The 
determination to remember permanently; thinking over the 
material as much as possible and early and frequent reviews 
make for permanent retention. 

It is worth noting that inability to recall immediately indi- 
cates poor observation, imperfect impressions, and the student 
who finds this kind of difficulty needs practice in observation. 
Inability to recall after a lapse of time indicates a defect in 
memory, and the student here needs practice in memorizing 
the kind of material which he wishes to remember. 

Memory is no sure index of general intelligence; people of 
low intelligence often show astonishing memories; and can 
sometimes repeat accurately without hesitation more than one 
has patience to hear. On the other hand memory is funda- 
mental to reasoning, inasmuch as memory furnishes the 
material for reasoning; neither is great learning an index of 
ability to use that knowledge, and we often find the great 
student unable to use his knowledge, whereas the man with 
a few facts and ability to put them into operation, to make the 
applications, steps in and achieves the success. 

The rate of learning. The old statement that quick learners 



128 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

are correspondingly quick to forget has been denied; and 
evidence has been brought forward to show that students who 
learn fastest also remember the best; we are told that fast 
learners are at no disadvantage. It seems most probable that 
two types of learners have been observed : one in which learn- 
ing is fast and retention superior; another in which the learn- 
ing is fast and retention inferior. There is no room for doubt 
that there are fast and slow learners; in the face of evidence 
available during the last few years it must be believed that 
many fast learners remember as well as, or better than, slow 
learners. 

The problem for any individual student is to find his own 
best rate; and excepting those who skim over their books with 
a superficial rapidity, it is for most people true that their rate 
of study could and should be a little faster than it generally is. 
A little extra pressure, desire to beat the other fellow, some- 
thing that gets us more solidly to work, frequently helps us to 
a speedier learning of a lesson which generally is learned 
lazily and not so well. The only way to find one's own best 
rate of study is to try out different rates and choose the rate 
that gives the best results. 

But it is to be understood that the rate of learning at the 
beginning of a task is not the rate which is best later when 
some progress has been made. Understanding requires a 
slower rate at first; accuracy is the essential in the beginnings 
for the understanding of logical material, memorizing, the 
learning of a skillful act, or what not. The work should go 
slowly enough for accuracy; speed can and should come later. 
The later study can be faster and should be; if as slow as at 
first, interest may lag and effort wane. 

Meumann considers the rate of learning "the most universal 
and fundamental condition of memorial activity work because 
the tempo of learning determines the time during which not 
only the single syllable remains in consciousness and is im- 
printed upon consciousness, but also the rapidity with which 
the associations between the several syllables are formed." 
Learning at a very fast rate is bad; learning at a very slow rate 
is bad; there is a loss either way, and the student if he is to do 
his best work with the best economy must find his own best 
rate of study, first for the material he is studying, second, for 
the stage of progress he has already made with this material, 
and third, for the problem he has before him, whether to- 
understand, to memorize, or to learn a skillful act. 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 129 

Auditory learning is faster than visual learning; if one 
learns through the eye, one must then expect to go a bit slow- 
er, but there is the satisfaction of knowing that the visual 
learning is more accurate. 

Regularity of application. The continual dropping of water 
wears away stones; regular application to a subject will re- 
move mountains. It is not too much to say that twenty 
minutes a day for a year would be sufficient for a fair student 
to learn the fundamentals of a science. This means regu- 
larity, and it is the regular application day after day, week 
after week, month after month that counts. The spasmodic 
effort just before an examination serves, perhaps, for the im- 
mediate occasion, but for that only. The superhuman effort 
for a short time overtaxes the system, and gives only indiffer- 
ent results with a very disproportionate expenditure of time 
and energy. 

The regular, systematic, accomplishment is the true way to 
success; this is the insuring of habits, and habits, if well form- 
ed, are as sure as anything that a man can rely upon. It is 
because of this regularity more than anything else that men 
awake suddenly to the realization of competency in their 
field. It is this which brings mastery; and when it comes one 
knows that he has command of that which has thus been 
practiced regularly; it is a part of him, and remains a part of 
him as long as his nervous system contiues to work normally. 

Frequency of practice. Is it most economical to practice 
for a certain length of period once a day, once every other 
day, twice a week, or several times a day? Granted the value 
of regularity, what is the best distribution of periods? The 
problem is very important especially in connection with the 
determination of the curriculum for schools and colleges. 
Very commonly we find students studying according to either 
one of two plans: the five times a week plan, or the alternate 
day plan. 

The study of Murphy (71) perhaps sums up the larger part 
of our experimental information on the subject. We have 
spoken elsewhere of the value of distribution of periods. Of 
this there is no doubt. We have only begun to get answer to 
the question of the best distribution. 

Murphy tells us : "In regard to periods of work up to a limit 
of twenty or thirty minutes, the conclusion has been reached 
that one practice period per day gives better results than any 
other larger number per day. Lashley (in an unpublished 



130 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

study) found in archery practice that the group which made 
five shots per day showed greater improvement for the same 
number of shots than those who made twenty shots or forty 
shots per day. 

As yet no conclusion has been reached in regard to the value 
of alternate days' practice compared with daily practice. 
Pyle, from his experiments in transcribing reading matter into 
new characters, concluded that daily practice is better than 
practice on alternate days. He had, however, only six sub- 
jects in the test, and even to this conclusion, he adds that after 
the initial stages alternate days may be better. 

Professor Leuba and Miss Hyde of Bryn Mawr have added 
some information to this question in their tests on "Hand 
Movements." Their test was to find out the progress in skill 
in writing English prose in German script. Four divisions 
were made of their subjects: One group working twice per 
day, one daily, one on alternate days, and another every third 
day" .... there is seen "very little difference between the al- 
ternate and daily practice groups, but in comparing them with 
other groups a decided showing is found in favor of the daily 
and alternate day groups. One defect in this comparison is 
the short length of the curve. The indications are that with 
further practice the alternate group would compare yet more 

favorably at the end of the tenth trial the group working 

on alternate days was superior." 

Professor Murphy gives the result of his own experiments in 
javelin throwing. Three groups of Normal School girls using 
the left hand, practised throwing the javelin; one group throw- 
ing five times a week, another three times a week, the third 
once a week. Some attention was also given to twice a day 
practice. Professor Murphy states in conclusion that, "From 
a study of the results of the above experiment, and from a 
careful study of the attitude of those throwing the javelin, we 
conclude that learning periods can be distributed by giving 
alternate days practice, and even weekly practice, without any 
loss in learning. We believe this to be a conservative state- 
ment not only for practice periods involving skill or hand 
manipulation but also for so-called mental work. We believe 
we are justified in stating that better work, for the amount of 
time expended, can be done in our schools through a distribu- 
tion of three times per week than through a distribution of 
five times per week." 

While there is apparently considerable economy in relative- 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 131 

ly longer intervals between practice periods, it is perhaps wise 
to await further study and to be especially careful about gen- 
eralizing from one kind of learning to another. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Explain how the old view of "memory" is supplanted by 
the modern view of "memories." Give reasons for this change 
of view. 

2. How may the "storehouse" idea of memory be mislead- 
ing? In what sense may it be correct? 

3. "The nervous modification which we have here named 
'impression' is, clearly, the first term in the series of nervous 
changes which condition the process of learning." Discuss 
this statement and show how much that we have said in earlier 
chapters is significant for the permanence of retention. 

4. "The conditions of impression are also the conditions of 
association." Can we conclude from this fact that we should 
try to make the conditions of learning as nearly as possible 
the same as the conditions that will be present when we want 
to recall? 

5. Make a list of the factors that you consider most valu- 
able in the school room for the purpose of helping students to 
retain what they study. 

6. Show how you could make use of several of these factors 
in presenting something to a class. Choose the subject and 
the factors you would use and show how you would use them. 

7. State Jost's law and show its significance for memorizing. 

8. What can you say as to the value of reviews? Are they 
valuable for short as well as for voluminous material? 

9. Discuss the relative values of different lengths of time 
for the learning of lessons. 

10. For what is cramming good? For what is it bad? 
Explain. 

11. What can you say as to the frequency of study? Should 
subjects be studied twice a day, once a day, every other day, 
or every three days? 

REFERENCES. 

Ebbinghaus, H. Memory. Tr. by Ruger, 1913, Teachers College, 
Columbia University. 

Meumann, E. The Psychology of Learning. Tr. by Baird. D. Ap- 
pleton and Co., 1910. 

Thorndike, E. L. Educational Psychology. Vol. 2. The Psychol- 
ogy of Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1913, Ch. 10. 
Also Briefer Coarse, 1915, Ch. 17. 

Watt, H,. J. The Economy and Training of the Memory. Long- 
mans, Green and Co., 1910. 



Chapter 11. 
MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION. 

(concluded) 

The nature of material. The nature of material and its 
organization or lack of organization make an immense dif- 
ference in learning and in retaining. Organization is im- 
mensely valuable both for mastery and for subsequent re- 
call. A speaker finds it easy to remember his address if he 
has organized it logically; the audience finds that such a 
talk can be reported with comparative ease; but let it be put 
together in a disorderly way and both speaker and hearers 
find proportionate difficulty in remembering even the main 
ideas. The teacher who can lecture hour after hour with 
comparatively little dependence on notes owes his readiness 
of recall very largely to the fact that the ideas have been 
organized. When one has this organization of a science in 
mind, whatever he studies finds its appropriate place in his 
system of thought, and is so much the more likely to be 
remembered. 

It follows for the student, then, that if the material which 
he studies is not properly organized, he should organize it 
for himself. It is conceivable that the organization of ma- 
terial could be done by a few very good students without 
written notes; but this method is bound to fail in many 
details if not with many of the main thoughts; this is es- 
pecially true of things learned through lecture. If one can 
listen to a lecture, understand it, and afterwards find what 
he is unable to remember in a textbook sufficiently well 
organized, it is probably the best way to do. But the essen- 
tial thing is to have the material organized and to have it so 
that it can be reviewed. Once going over a thing is not 
sufficient. 

Topical study. Topical study and topical organization are 
undoubtedly the best; know first the general subject, next the 
first main thought and the subheads under it with illustrations; 
then the next main thought and the subheads and illustrations 
under each, and so on. The subheads may be arguments for 
or against, examples, explanations, applications, or whatever 

132 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 133 

else belongs with that main thought. We think by topics, we 
use, answer questions, solve problems, index our knowledge 
by topics; and for all these purposes and in practically all cir- 
cumstances the topical method of study and of organization 
is best. 

Light from later chapters. It is obvious that some material 
can be mastered as one goes along and that other material is 
so difficult that one finds it either very hard or impossible to 
master in this way. For skillful acts, habits need to be made 
thoroughly before higher habits, that is, habits dependent upon 
the fundamental habits, can be made economically. On the 
other hand, common experience shows that what is not under- 
stood or well remembered may be cleared up and easily fixed 
in memory when later paragraphs are read, or after later 
chapters are studied: later statements throw light on earlier 
ones. 

It is a common experience for students to find on review 
for examination that many parts of a course which were not 
at all clear earlier become perfectly clear through the review, 
and furthermore, the different facts find their proper place, 
appear in the true perspective in the student's mind. To go 
ahead and get light and then to review is, with much meaning- 
ful material, often the thing to do. This suggests naturally 
enough the problem of learning by the whole or part or by 
some other method, and the further problem of the size or 
amount of the units to be learned at any one time. 

The whole versus the part method. Experiments give us 
considerable evidence in connection with the first question. 
The most common way to learn a poem or a speech is to learn 
a part, then another part, and so forth, until the entire poem 
or speech is learned. The results of experiments show that in 
comparison with the method of learning by going from be- 
ginning to end and repeating the process till the learning is 
complete, learning by parts is wasteful of time and energy. 
Learning by wholes is more economical than learning by 
parts. The possible exception to this rule is found with non- 
sense syllables which have been used in experiments; there is 
little or none of this kind of memorizing in real life however, 
and furthermore, there is reason to believe that a modification 
of the whole method is best even with this kind of material. 

Meumann has reported the results of his own experiments 
and of the experiments of others. The results, in which there 
is general agreement, are as follows: "For adults and children 



134 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

it is more advantageous and it is psychologically and pedagog- 
ically more appropriate to learn every sort of material as a 
whole than to break it up into parts:" — "If, for example, an 
observer remembers thirty percent of a poem which he learn- 
ed three months ago by the whole procedure, he would be 
found to have forgotten almost the whole of it during the same 
interval if he had learned it by the part procedure. Indeed, 
it sometimes happened, it is true, that stanzas which had been 
learned by the whole procedure required more repetitions on 
relearning than stanzas learned by the part procedure; but, 
even in those cases, the former stanzas were remembered es- 
sentially better than the latter. Hence, the whole method again 
proves to be more advantageous in so far as retention for 
longer periods of time is concerned." 

Again he writes: "I have discovered that the whole pro- 
cedure is advantageous not only in the laboratory but in 
practice, for teachers of my acquaintance have submitted it to 
a thorough test in their schools. Let the children see how 
wholly different is their concentration of attention when they 
learn by means of the whole method or by one of the mediating 
methods, and how, in employing the part method as they or- 
dinarily do, they waste an extravagant number or repetitions 
on the first few lines of a stanza of poetry and neglect the other 
lines." (68). The conclusions stated above were based on 
studies of memorizing non-sense syllables and poetry. 

Miss Lakenan compared the whole and part methods in 
connection with both prose and poetry. She writes: "For 
memorizing poetry, the whole method is, in general, more 
economical than the part method. In cases where the part 
method was of advantage for the first learning, the percentage 
retained after a number of months was greater for material 
learned by the whole method than for that learned by the part 
method; prose is more readily learned and better retained by 
means of the whole method than by the part; for both poetry 
and prose there is an increase in effectiveness of the whole 
method with increase in the length of the selection to be learn- 
ed, up to 36 lines of poetry and 300 words of prose, which were 
the limits of the experiments .... most children tested found 
the whole method of advantage for the first learning." (56). 

Reasons offered in explanation of the advantage of the 
whole method are numerous : better distribution of attention 
and effort; realization of meaning of the whole; consequent 
better interest and sustained effort; avoidance of transition 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 135 

from one section to another and the final putting them all 
together; having parts in right order and position from the 
beginning, and thus learning cues for succeeding parts from 
the outset; aid given by total impression. 

Modification of the whole method. What Meumann calls 
the "mediating" method is a modification of the whole method. 
For example, a language vocabulary exercise is to be learned; 
the student goes through it from start to finish as required by 
the whole method; but he notes or marks the hard places and 
as he goes over the exercise in the following repetitions he 
allows the mind to dwell longer on the hard parts. This ob- 
viously combines the further factor of duration of impression. 
The term "mediating" is not sufficiently descriptive of the 
method designated: the expression, emphasizing whole 
method, is at least more definite and might perhaps be most 
useful. 

Another modification of method is in the combination of the 
whole and part methods; this allows for individual differences. 
It has been used most successfully with school children. The 
material is first studied by the whole method; then the hard 
parts are studied by the part method; finally the entire matter 
is gone over by the whole method again. This also permits 
greater attention and the expenditure of more time and energy 
on the hard parts and proves to be most successful and econ- 
omical in many situations. 

Size of units. As to the size of units, the amount of material 
to be studied by the whole method or by any other method, 
only partial answer has been given by psychological experi- 
ments. The results seem to differ with practised and unprac- 
tised observers. Ebbinghaus found that with unpractised 
observers larger amounts of material required a dispropor- 
tionately large number of repetitions. With practised observ- 
ers an increase in the amount to learn does not require a pro- 
portionate increase in the number of repetitions needed for 
learning. The conclusion seems to be that for unpractised 
observers or learners, shorter units, and for better trained 
students longer units, are best. 

Meumann states on the basis of work done in his laboratory 
that "the task assigned for a single period must be as great as 
the capacity of the learner permits." (69). In defense of this 
he reports the following facts: syllables may be learned with 
a certain number of repetitions, as for example, 8 in 5.2 repe- 
titions; 12 in 10.4; 16 in 17; 18 in 21.5; 24 in 30; 36 in 32.5 repe- 
titions. 



136 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Miss Lakenan reports: "In learning prose by the whole 
method, fewer repetitions are required for learning a 300 word 
selection than for learning a 100 or 200 word selection, while 
in learning prose by the part method there is a sligrft increase 
in the number of repetitions required with increase in the 
length of selection to be learned. In memorizing poetry, 36 
lines require fewer repetitions for learning than do 18 lines, 
when the whole method is used. When the part method is 
used, there is an increase in the number of repetitions requir- 
ed for learning with increase in the length of the selections to 
be learned, with one exception, — 36 lines require fewer repe- 
titions than do 27 lines." (57). 

Henmon found similarly with meaningful material that an 
increase in amount of material did not require a proportional 
increase in the number of repetitions. It is probable, there- 
fore, that economy is to be found in taking a fairly long task 
rather than a shorter one; just how long, psychologists are not 
ready to say; further experiments must be made; and when 
they are made, individual differences will probably make it 
very much an individual problem still; better students will 
find it economical to take longer amounts while poorer stud- 
ents will find it advisable to take smaller amounts to study at 
one time. Experience tells part of this, as, for example, the 
division of a play into acts is found to be the best. 

In this connection Meumann writes: "The slow increase in 
number of repetitions with increase in amount of material 
reveals the presence of a fact of will, and also perhaps of an 
attitude or adjustment, which may be described by the state- 
ment that the expenditure of energy is regulated automatically 
to conform with the magnitude of the achievement which is 
demanded of the learner. It is a matter of every-day obser- 
vation that our task progresses more readily when we make 
it part of a larger task than when we set about it independent- 
ly. Our awareness of the fact that the task is large leads us 
unconsciously and involuntarily to a keener and more effec- 
tive concentration of our energies. I have found this phenom- 
enon to occur in learning, in the work-curve, and even in 
ergographic experiments, so that I am led to suppose that it 
may be a universal law of will" 

Size of units and the length of assignments. The topical 
method of study and of assigning lessons permits of a solution 
to this problem. A topic or several topics are assigned. All 
students must learn a certain minimum about each topic. The 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 137 

better students are credited for all they learn in addition. 
Credit is also given for quality of work. Obviously the pro- 
cedure requires a careful organization of the course. But no 
teacher should attempt to teach a course if it has not been 
well organized. 

Order of learning. Order of learning is akin to organization 
of material. The order of studying facts in a subject in a 
course in school or college, gives the basis for the organization 
of all the facts learned; on the basis of such order of learning 
and organization the material is most easily learned and best 
remembered. In physics, for example, it is likely that the 
fundamental matters of time, space and mass should be 
studied first; then the phenomena arising from the combin- 
ation of two of these; then the phenomena arising from the 
combination of all three; and, finally, the more complex 
phenomena which can be properly understood on the basis of 
these facts. This ordering of materials, the presentation of 
facts in the best sequence, is the problem of the teacher and of 
the author of the text-book; but the student should expect to 
find such presentation from the teacher and from the text- 
book. 

Silent learning versus learning aloud. Is it more economic 
to study silently or aloud? Dumville and Lewis (23) report 
that they found the silent method better for groups of child- 
ren who learned poetry by the "entire" method. The groups 
using the silent method not only did better in reproduction 
but the individuals, evidently without exception liked the 
silent method better. 

Pintner and Gilliland (82) report that groups which they 
studied showed better results when using the silent method. 
(See figure 1). Mead (61) reports that fifteen out of seventeen 
classes did better in reading by the silent method. Seventy 
percent of the children, aged 9.2 to 16 years, taken separately 
did better by this method. 

Explanations offered indicate that the silent method is con- 
sidered to allow better exercise of individual differences in 
such things as rate of learning, span of apprehension, differ- 
ence in understanding words, kinds of associations, type of 
imagery, and that there is less distraction and better attention 
when this method is used. 

We have yet to learn if a combination of the two methods 
would not give the best results. Dumville and Lewis think 
that the combination of a little concerted learning and the rest 



138 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

and by far the most of silent learning would in common prac- 
tice in schools give the best results. 

The attitude of the student. When all is said the fact re- 
mains that all progress in learning depends on the activity of 
the student; and it depends on the text or the teacher only so 
far as the text or the teacher arouses this activity of the stud- 
ent. Ultimately all education depends on the activity of the 
learner, and the school or college can only arouse and help to 
direct this activity and make it economic. The teacher can 
offer the stimulus, the incentive. The attitude, the condition 
of the student, the way he goes to work, determine what he 
shall learn. In the field of memory the old illustration is 
pertinent. A baggageman delivered a trunk to the wrong 
address while drunk and was unable to recall the place where 
he had left the trunk until he was again drunk. The point is 
that the conditions of learning are also the conditions of re- 
call. The student should realize then that he should put him- 
self in the same attitude when studying in which he will find 
himself when trying to recall; this means among other things, 
something of the aggressive attitude. 

Artificial systems and devices 'Mnemonics. The majority 
of students, teachers, business and professional men find that 
the logical organization and the continual use of their subject 
matter are not only sufficient for remembering their material 
but that these means are the most satisfactory; on the other 
hand, men with excellent memories find aid in the use of ar- 
tificial systems or devices, in mnemonic systems or mnemonic 
devices. The railway postal clerk who has to memorize all 
the post-offices in three states, looks in vain for logical con- 
nection with such incorrigible material and rightly seeks aid 
in mnemonics. 

We have, in the first place, to recognize the fact that people 
for the most part do not make their memories serve them as 
they might; case after case could be cited of people who com- 
plained of poor memories, but found that a little demand in 
the way of practice revealed good or excellent memories. In 
the second place, people commonly hold to the notion that 
they can practise on one kind of material and as a result be 
better able to remember other kinds of material; failing in this 
they feel the need of an artificial cure-all. And, in the third 
place, the flight to an artificial system is a flight to a means of 
interpolating into the material to be learned the logical or 
other associations which the student should find within nearly 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 139 

all kinds of material itself. The justification of a mnemonic, 
therefore, so far as it can be justified at all, lies in its interpol- 
ating some kind of helpful association where there is none in 
the material itself. 

Disadvantages of mnemonics. This bringing in of some 
kind of association into discrete, incorrigible material is the 
advantage of mnemonics, and constitutes, so far as the author 
can see, its only defense. And the disadvantages are many. 
The logic that is used is often bad logic; one uses poor logic 
enough without training in its use; the system is of little use 
unless it is fully mastered and continually used; this is likely 
to mean overuse, that is, use where it should not be resorted 
to, and therefore, a tendency away from relying on native 
memory and making it serve one as it should. It is obvious, 
too, that reliance on an artificial system may postpone or even 
eliminate the discovery of logical relations within the material 
to be learned which the student should find if he is to have any 
mastery of his subject. 

Furthermore any recall through the medium of mnemonics 
is slower because of the additional associations involved, and 
is correct only if the system has been used correctly. The 
mind has all this time of course the burden of the additional 
auxiliary ideas demanded by the system. The enthusiast is 
likely to overuse such a system at first; later to become dissat- 
isfied with it and to find it more a burden than a help. 

At best mnemonics is only an aid to memory and should 
never be substituted for ordinary memorizing; it should never 
be used except to supplement, and then only for material 
which cannot be dealt with in a better way. Its true use is, 
then, with very difficult discrete material and only as an oc- 
casional supplementary aid. The little mnemonic devices 
arranged by teachers perform this office. 

Habit or logic in language. Rules for correct pronunciation 
and for the correct use of language are a sort of logical method 
of dealing with language; and the teacher should learn once 
for all that knowledge of rules does not make much difference 
with the actual performance. A person speaks and writes 
correctly because he has heard and read and been called upon 
to use correct language. The direct method of teaching lan- 
guages recognizes this fact. Experimental pcdago£v has 
shown us how little the knowledge of rules has to do with the 
correct use of language; (85) and experience tells us that 
children can learn several languages if people around them 



140 



PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



use those languages. It is fairly safe to say that no one but a 
teacher and he very seldom thinks of a rule or makes any ap- 
plication of a rule in the use of language. "Grammar," ac- 
cording to the recent report of the U. S. Bureau of Education, 
(32), "receives altogether too much time and is taught too in- 
tensively and too analytically." 

Forgetting. The facts of forgetting are very complex and 
confusing. Few generalizations can be made that apply to 
different kinds of material. The rate of forgetting and its ex- 
tent differ as the material as well as the conditions of learning 
differ. It may be safe to say, however, that forgetting is at 
first very rapid and that this decreases as time goes on. In 
some kinds of learning at least one retains or is able to repro- 
duce more at the end of twenty-four than at the end of eight 
hours after learning. 

100^ 



80 



60 



40 



20 



Figure 12 



1 
Days 



6 



14 



30 



Fig. 12. The rate of forgetting non-sense syllables. Results from a study of 
27 observers. The curve is drawn from results given by Radossawljewitsch. 
See table in E. Meumann. The Psychology of Learning, 333. 



The study of Radossawljewitsch is probably as representa- 
tive as any for the rate of forgetting non-sense syllables. These 
were learned by 27 observers until they could reproduce them 
twice without error. The average results are as follows: 2.5 
per cent were forgotten in 5 minutes; 11.4 per cent in 20 min- 
utes; 29.3 per cent in 60 minutes; 52.6 per cent in 8 hours; 32.2 



MEMORIES AND THE PERMANENCE OF ACQUISITION 



141 



per cent in 1 day; 39.1 per cent in 2 days; 50.7 per cent in 6 
days; 59 per cent in 14 days; 62.2 per cent in 21 days; 79.8 per 
cent in 30 days; 97.2 per cent in 120 days. This is made clear- 
er by the accompanying curve (Figure 12) . 



yqb 






8o 




Figure 13. 


6a 






40 






ZD 






O 


1 


t i i i t 


i 


f 


& ZO 3L 



Fig. 13. "The approximate curve of forgetting for poetry learned to the point 
of two successful reproductions. Drawn from data of Radossawljewitsch. 
(Thorndike)." 



The forgetting of poetry seems to follow another curve, and 
this is represented in the second figure which again shows the 
faster forgetting at first and slower later. (Figure 13). 

Permanence and the kind of learning. Some of our acquisi- 
tions are without doubt much more permanent than others. 
Some are no doubt more likely to be permanent because of the 
nature of the learning or of the nature of the thing learned, or 
for both reasons. Thorndike makes the following statement 
in The Psychology of Learning: "It is perhaps the case that 
functions whose improvement consists in responding more 
surely and more quickly by some movements of the muscles 
to some sense presentations with which the former are to be 
bound with few intermediaries, retain their improvement 
better than functions where the surety and speed of bonds 
from one internally initiated event in the brain to another are 
the main facts to be improved. Skating, dancing, swimming, 
typewriting in an advanced stage, on the one hand, and the re- 
cital of poems, or nonsense series, knowledge of chemistry or 
geology, the ability to translate English into German, and type- 
writing at the beginning, on the other, illustrate and suggest 
this contrast. 

"It is possible that the secondary or so-called higher con- 
nections in the nervous system which correspond to the asso- 



142 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

ciation of 'ideas' are fundamentally less retentive of modifi- 
cation produced in them by learning than are the more prim- 
ary and direct neural bonds which correspond to the associa- 
tion of senory situation and motor response. Knowledge may 
be by the nature of man's neurones less retainable than skill. 
Roughly, as a matter of general observation, it seems to be." 
(110). * 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Explain why the organization of material is very im- 
portant. 

2. Many students say that they could never study by the 
whole method. What facts are there to indicate that they 
should study by the whole method? 

3. How would you modify the whole method for group 
study? 

4. "The task assigned for a single period must be as great 
as the capacity of the learner permits." What is the reason 
for this and why is too short a task an evil? 

5. Choose several subjects and thinking of the age of the 
students, how large units would you have to be studied by the 
whole method? 

6. What two kinds of reading must children learn? Which 
is more important and more used in adult life? 

7. What has the attitude of the student to do with learning? 
Cite some examples. 

8. Distinguish between mnemonic systems and mnemonic 
devices and indicate the probable value of each. 

9. What general laws of forgetting can you mention and 
what can the teacher do to help pupils with the problem of 
forgetting? 

10. Make three lists of five subjects each which shall show, 
1) subjects in which there must be the most effort to bring 
about permanent retention, 2) subjects requiring the least 
effort, and 3) subjects requiring intermediate amounts of 
effort. Can you find any general principle involved? 

REFERENCES. 

Ebbinghaus, H. Memory, Tr. by Ruger, 1913. Teachers College 
Columbia University. 

Meumann, E. The Psychology of Learning. Tr. by Baird. D. Ap- 
pleton and Co., 1910. 

Thorndike, E. L. Educational Psychology, Vol. 2. The Psychology 
of Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1913. Ch. 10. 
Briefer (bourse, 1915. Ch. 17. 

Watt, H. J. The Economy and Training of the Memory. Longman's 
Green and Co., 1910. 



Chapter 12 
MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT. 

The release of energy. One of the most conspicuous char- 
acteristics of the living organism is that it responds to stimuli 
in a vastly different way than do inanimate objects. A billiard 
ball responds, if the term be permitted in this case, in direct 
proportion to the amount of stimulus. The response of a liv- 
ing organism, and especially of the human organism, is likely 
to be out of all proportion to the strength of the stimulus. The 
response is more nearly similar to the action of gunpowder, 
or of a coiled spring when the energy is suddenly released. 
The analogy is inadequate. The response of the organism 
may be varied and the extent of the reaction impossible to 
calculate beforehand. But the analogy holds in one respect. 
The response of the organism is determined both by the stim- 
ulus and by the inherent tendencies to respond. Instinctive 
and acquired dispositions, which are many and varied, are 
necessary to account for the many and extensive responses of 
the organism. Also, and especially in the human being, the 
problem is complicated by the inhibitions which may limit or 
entirely hinder any response at all. 

The present and following chapters (chapters 12 and 13) 
will deal with the means of arousing the desirable activities 
on the part of the student. In the present chapter we shall 
emphasize the instinctive and emotional side of the matter. 
In the following chapter we shall emphasize the matter of at- 
tention and sustained effort. 

The teacher's work is to arouse and to direct. If these in- 
herent tendencies in the student were absent the process of 
education would never even get started. No difficult case in 
my own teaching experience ever aroused so deep an interest 
in me as one in which these feelings and tendencies seemed 
to be as nearly missing as they could be in a human being. 
The young man in question had no apparent interest in any- 
thing. He made no progress in his studying. In fact, so far 
as I knew, he did little more than to take an attitude of study 
at rare intervals. I asked him if he did not want to keep up 
with his class; he said that he did not care. I inquired if he 

143 



144 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

did not care what his teachers thought about his work; he said 
that it did not matter. Did he not care what the fellows 
thought; it made no difference what they thought. Was he 
not interested in any study or work; no, not at all. My own 
interest in him and in his work seemed to arouse none in him. 
Nothing mattered. There seemed to be nothing to appeal to. 

One day I invited him to spend the afternoon with me. I 
took him to lunch and then through a part of the University 
which he had not seen, and we finished the day by seeing part 
of a base-ball game. From that time he was interested and 
eager to do anything I asked. The authorities had just order- 
ed him to a school for delinquents because he had trouble with 
all his teachers; but he obtained permission to come and work 
for me part of each week. The secret was that he had been 
punished, pounded, maltreated at home and at school until he 
was callous to all appeals that had formerly been made. Now 
he did care and he worked well, as well, indeed, as any of my 
pupils. The point is : he began to care. The tendencies with- 
in us that make us care and rouse us to do are the all import- 
ant, yes, the absolute essentials to achievement. 

The means of appeal: Native and acquired dispositions. 
The material with which the teacher has to work so far as the 
student is concerned are his native and acquired dispositions. 
The individual has at the beginning of life, and acquires later 
many intellectual, emotional, and bodily tendencies to activity. 
The task of the teacher is to arouse the ones desired and to 
direct the activity into desirable channels. This is the rule 
but occasionally it is right to repress some activities. Such 
repression can generally best be done by the arousal and direc- 
tion of another activity. 

No complete list of the tendencies which a teacher has to 
work with has been made. And for the most part thorough 
analysis and understanding of the 'native tendencies are still 
to come. The tendencies themselves form the means to the 
transformation of the individual into that which he should be. 
The ends to be attained are the more or less permanent dis- 
positions. Without attempt at classification or of complete- 
ness, we give the following list of tendencies with which the 
teacher should be familiar. For such knowledge the teacher 
should have a course in Child Study. It may not be too much 
impressed upon the teacher that he is dealing with activity and 
life, not with inactivity and death. 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 



145 



What the tendencies are: 
Reflexes 

Tendencies to more com- 
plex movements 
Fear 
Imitation 
Fighting 
Rivalry 

Acquiring and collecting 
Protecting instinct 
Hunting 
Scorn 

Self assertion 
Submission 
Bashfulness 
Bullying 

Tendency to follow 
Tendency to lead 
Curiosity 
Love 
Anger 

Tendency to enjoy 
Avoidance of pain 
Play * 



Manipulation 
Love of approval 
Desire to be with others 
To be comfortable or an- 
noyed 
Sex instinct 
Parental instinct 
Repulsion 
Credulity 
Suggestibility 

Tendency to try things out 
Tendency to let things be 
Empathy 

Tendency to run from 
Wonder 
Elation 
Pity 

Surprise 
Fascination 
Joy 

Sorrow 
Respect 
Reverence 



Let it be remembered that this is no attempt to indicate the 
original nature of man, but to suggest the tendencies with 
which the teacher has to deal. Some of those named above 
are not native but acquired, e. g., the tendency to imitate. 
Neither does the list indicate those elements which are irre- 
ducible to simpler tendencies. Play, for example, is complex. 
The teacher in actual work is not concerned with the final 
analysis of these things, but must work with simpler and more 
complex dispositions as opportunity permits and need 
demands. 

Results of an attempt to classify in order of importance. It 
is of great value for the teacher to realize so far as possible 
the relative value of appeals to different tendencies. It is 
clear that this is so when one realizes that the activities arous- 
ed tend to become permanent, conforming as they must to the 
laws of habit. It is true that the teacher should know all the 
kinds of appeal that are available and follow the general prin- 
ciple of making the highest type of appeal possible in any 
given case. An attempt at classification has been made by 
some of my students who have had experience in teaching. 
The following list shows the order from most to least import- 



146 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

ant as agreed upon by the class after studying their separate 
reports and discussing them in class. Another group might 
find little agreement with this order, but would find it of value 
to consider the order given and to compare it with some other 
order that they judge better, and to think out the reasons for 
their preferences. 

1. Desire to learn and tendency to give attention. 

2. Curiosity and the tendencies to be interested and to 
use effort. 

3. Play. 

4. Imitation. Tendencies to unconscious and conscious- 
ly directed imitation, and in connection with ideals. 

5. Emulation; also, in connection with fear of scorn and 
of criticism. 

6. Secondary race preserving tendencies: hoarding, ex- 
ploring, ownership, manipulating, collecting, and the 
like. 

7. Altruistic: communication and cooperation; gaining 
attention of others for their good; kindness, and the 
like. To be master of or submissive to. 

8. Tendencies to physical adjustment: to give attention, 
to inhibit distractions, to make motor coordinations. 

9. Primary race preserving tendencies: sex, gregarious- 
ness, reverence, jealousy, anger, bodily fear, sorrow, 
and the like. 

The selfish instincts. Professor E. J. Swift, in his "Youth 
and the Race," (94), shows the way in which students have 
been aroused to devote themselves to earnest effort. Emula- 
tion, competition, ownership, and other native tendencies were 
aroused in such a way that enthusiastic study took the place of 
lack of interest and lawlessness. One point which he brings 
out is worthy of special consideration. It is that of the real- 
ization of an activity being "mine" and for "my" good. Many 
examples are given to show how a pupil will take a new and 
deep interest in an activity which he comes to think of as not 
the teacher's work but of being "my work." Latin instead of 
being an uninteresting subject came to be a language in which 
to debate. Other subjects in which teachers worked in vain 
to keep up an interest came to be subjects in which the stud- 
ents vied with each other to be the best informed. It was their 
activity and not the teacher's. Even truants were aroused to 
solve the truancy problems in several schools and succeeded 
where the principals had failed. 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 147 

Case studies of successful appeals. The writer has collected 
cases of successful appeal by teachers and social workers. 
Many of these he has found in his visits to the school room. 
Some of them he has learned of in conversation with the teach- 
ers. For some of them he is indebted to the reports of former 
students in educational psychology, who report their own ex- 
periences, or who have brought to his attention successful 
cases of other workers. These cases illustrate concretely and 
vividly the application of psychological laws, and, it is hoped, 
may offer valuable suggestions to teachers who have not solv- 
ed this particular kind of problem. 

A tactful request. The following incident occurred in a 
country school. The scholars were of many different ages 
and sizes. The teacher was a young lady. One of the 
largest boys had been causing a good deal of trouble; finally 
he threw a large ball of paper across the room. The teacher 
who was accustomed to keep order told him to pick it up. 
This he refused to do. The teacher asked him several times, 
but he absolutely refused. The teacher asked him final- 
ly in the following way : "All I can do is to ask you to pick it 
up. You are much larger and stronger than I am, so you see 
I cannot make you do it." At this the boy changed his attitude, 
picked up the paper, and came to treat the teacher more 
courteously. 

The group spirit: the pupil's own problem. The people 
living near a certain school play ground called an indignation 
meeting following the breaking of a window during a ball 
game. The play ground had been disorderly and the neigh- 
bors had had considerable trouble at various times. Contrary 
to the plan of these people, the boys were permitted to attend 
the meeting. Before the supervisor of play grounds they 
were permitted to present their case. They admitted their 
wrong doings, and presented a plea for the use of the ground 
as before. They were finally granted the use of the ground 
to see what they could do to make it what it should be. 

After the parents had departed the boys stayed and took up 
the matter of discipline. They condemned smoking and 
swearing on the play ground and planned several reforms. It 
now being their problem they went to work to see that the 
ground was used so as to be unobjectionable and some of their 
own number were appointed to see that the plans were carried 
out. A great deal of improvement in the discipline was ob- 
served. 



148 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

The feeling of usefulness. In a sixth grade of a certain 
Minneapolis school, one boy was very obstinate and a great 
disturber of the school. The teacher had repeatedly kept him 
after school and tried different methods to get him to do better. 
All efforts had failed and they were very much at odds with 
each other. One noon she asked him to stay a few minutes. 
When she went to his desk she found him drawing a coffee 
pot and other similar objects. She asked him why he drew 
such things and he told her that his mother worked, so that 
when he reached home he had to prepare lunch for the other 
children and they were uppermost in his mind. She talked 
with him a few minutes and told him that she thought he could 
be of a good deal of help to her, that she would depend upon 
him to assist her with the diagrams, and drawings which she 
had to make. Beginning with that afternoon his conduct 
changed and he never afterwards gave any trouble. He show- 
ed interest in the work of the school and seemed to feel that 
he was of real use to the teacher and to the whole school. 

Being a knight. A boy in a local kindergarten came from a 
wealthy home and had no idea of obedience. He seemed to 
want to do whatever he thought he should not do. If the 
teacher told another child not to do a certain thing he at once 
did it. The teacher conceived the idea of having the boy take 
the role of a knight. What a knight should be was explained 
to him. A knight would be courteous, etc. Of course, a knight 
would not do certain things, for example, he would not knock 
down smaller boys, or pull girls' hair. The ideal appealed to 
the boy and he decided to be a knight. In this way he grew 
to be one of the best behaved boys in the kindergarten. 

School money, bankbooks, and ownership. "At a small 
school in California which I attended some years ago," writes 
a former student, "a number of devices were used to direct the 
energy and interests of the students into useful paths. In the 
first place, all of the boys and girls in the school were reward- 
ed for their efforts by toy money. They were paid for wash- 
ing the blackboards, for doing copy work for the teacher, for 
receiving the best marks in spelling or arithmetic for one 
week, and the like. There were also fines for misconduct. 
Each one in the school had his private account book. Monthly 
these books were handed in for inspection. Incidentally, 
many of us learned some useful hints about keeping accounts. 
The system aroused the instincts of play, rivalry and ambition. 
Each child felt the pride of ownership in money he himself 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 149 

had earned by hard work. The children did not become 
miserly, but were generous with their money. In the same 
school, there was a monthly paper published by the students. 
Also, each one had his little garden plot in the school yard. In 
all these things, the children felt the pride of ownership and 
its responsibility. By appealing to the selfish instincts, the 
teacher gave the stimulus to rapid progress." 

Appeal to pride in one's own possessions. The following 
case represents the experience of one of my students. She 
writes : "When I was a child I took no interest inside the house 
and did not seem to be at all domestically inclined. My father 
had a play house built and all the children of the neighbor- 
hood enjoyed it. I took great pride in keeping my play house 
clean and straight, and it was almost impossible to keep me 
away from the place. I must have taken more interest in the 
play house because I felt that I owned it. This shows a pride 
in one's own possessions not felt in another's." 

Winning pupils through tact, play and a friendly attitude. 
The following quotation from the statement given me by a 
young and inexperienced teacher shows the possibilities that 
lie in the right treatment of a difficult case. 

"I had signed my contract to teach a rural school in the east- 
ern part of county, Minn. The district had offered what 

was considered an unusually high salary and that fact alone 
was sufficient to prove that 'there was something wrong some- 
where.' Hardly had I reached my boarding house before I 
was told of the awful ordeal ahead of me. No teacher in the 
last four years had been able to finish the term of her contract 
because of Willie. I learned that Willie was a boy of eleven, 
whom no one had been able to discipline. Even his parents 
could not do anything with him. Many tales were told of his 
obstinacy and absolute disregard of authority .... Here was I, 
confronted bv the problem, and only an inexperienced girl of 
seventeen. What was my surprise, on unlocking the school 
house door the next morning, to be confronted within by a 
sickly looking, stunted figure of a boy with a face which, 
despite the evident satisfaction of having 'put one over on the 
new teacher,' was wizened and somewhat pitiful if one stopped 
to analyze it. He had evidently crawled in through the win- 
dow and seemed to be quite taken aback when I did not im- 
mediately reprimand him for having done so 

When I began to try to carry on a conversation witli him, 
he started to bounce a baseball against the blackboard. It 



150 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

was not yet 7:15 and after not noticing (apparently) what he 
was doing for some time and having arranged for the opening 
of school, I suggested to Willie, for it was none other than he, 
that we go out on the hill and play catch. I never have seen 
a more surprised boy. He seemed unable to understand me 
and did not take me seriously until I led the way. I had had 
considerable experience in playing catch, so was not at all 
doubtful about my ability, which so surprised Willie that he 
almost forgot, by the time the other pupils arrived, that he was 
playing with the new teacher whom he had come early to 

tease into reprimanding him Several children arrived 

early, so I suggested that we play baseball, which suggestion 
was readilly adopted. 

By school time my ability to play and my attitude of 'being 
one of them in their play' had won the admiration, not only 
of Willie, whom I feared to meet, but of all the pupils, so that 
when we came into the school room every one went to the as- 
signed seat and to work without the least disturbance. Not 
once during my stay of nine months did I have trouble with 
Willie and he begged his father, who was on the school board, 
to get me to come back. To this day, Willie is a loyal friend 
and his cards of greeting come regularly. His parents tell me 
that he learned more in those nine months than in all his pre- 
vious school work 

My measure of success was due to what at that time was an 
accident, but a lucky one for me, for it was one which resulted 
from my directing their innate tendency to play, and through 
that channel, I was able to direct not only Willie, but all the 
pupils into an attitude of mind which fostered study when it 
was time to study " 

Army organization and reward of a holiday. A fifth grade 
teacher had experienced a great deal of trouble on account of 
noise and confusion in the school room and was getting dis- 
couraged over the general problem of discipline. To solve 
the problem she appointed those who were making the most 
trouble as captains, — one for each row. It was the duty of 
each captain to collect all papers and to maintain order in his 
particular row. Each child was under the jurisdiction of the 
captain of his row. And every soldier was to cooperate with 
his captain in an endeavor to make his army, i. e., the pupils 
in his row, maintain better order than was maintained in any 
other army. 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 151 

As a reward for the best disciplined army the teacher gave 
a half-holiday. Since the troublesome scholars are usually 
the most desirous of a holiday, this plan worked well and the 
teacher found a very effective method of keeping order with 
little effort on her part. 

The arousal and development of interest. One feeling, 
namely interest, deserves special mention. It goes with a dis- 
position particularly valuable for study. The means of arous- 
ing interest are various. Through some of the following 
means it is generally possible to arouse it if it be lacking and 
to increase it where there is very little. 

Interest and the force of suggestion. There are many kinds 
of suggestion. People, actions, things, places, all are sugges- 
tions to something good or bad. In the first place, a desirable 
environment for study incites one to the work. Where the 
work is going on; where others are interested and enthusiastic; 
where the subject is being discussed; where the books or ma- 
terial are present and ready for use; and where distracting 
things are not too many or too insistent, the student finds that 
interest is likely to come, or if already present, to develop. 
When one has magazines coming to his door, and books on his 
table, they are suggestions to read. One is more likely to find 
himself reading them regularly than if the suggestion were 
lacking and he had to go to the library for them. People who 
suggest study are to be chosen and those who suggest laziness 
are to be avoided. Biography is very stimulating and one can 
hardly find any reading that offers more stimulating sugges- 
tion to effort than biography affords. 

The law of affective expansion. The gaining of some pleas- 
ant knowledge about a subject is often a means of arousing 
interest in the whole subject. No better way of starting 
botany can be found than by going with an interesting botanist 
through the woods and listening to him tell about this plant 
and that flower. One of my students reports to me that in 
high school he cared little or not at all about literature until 
one day a teacher read to the class one of Poe's stories. After 
that he was not satisfied until he had read more of Poe. From 
Poe he went to Cooper and then to other writers. A visit to 
a municipal water works, has in my knowledge, led many 
students to an interest in the problems found there but has ex- 
panded to other problems of civics. One of my students re- 
ports the following expansion of interest in the field of history. 
"Interest in chivalry was aroused and this turned to interest 



152 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

in feudalism and from that led on to the crusades, and later to 
the rise of Italian cities, all of which transferred to the whole 
field of medieval history." 

Association and the development of interest. Another 
method of getting interest is to associate something pleasant 
with the activity. Rewards often act in this way. The pleas- 
antness of the reward is associated with the study itself. The 
pleasantness of a trip with the geology that is learned. The 
delightful textbook may associate pleasantness with the sub- 
ject itself. The sarcasm of a teacher too often couples the 
unpleasantness with the subject which is being taught. The 
interest which may be aroused by a moving picture is an illus- 
tration of this use of association. 

Interest and attitude. Another way to arouse interest is to 
take an attitude in connection with the matter. Take up a 
point in relation to your subject and defend it; or take a theory 
or what not and show its weakness or its value. It has been 
found that taking some such attitude may in the long run 
make the whole subject interesting. 

Realization of use or value. Things are commonly interest- 
ing when we find a use to which we can put them. Courses 
are much more likely to be chosen if students find that they 
can make application of the material taught. One may de- 
velop an interest in a subject by discovering some way in 
which the knowledge may throw light on some of his prob- 
lems; it may throw light on facts in some other field. It may 
be by coming to a realization of the significance of the subject 
in one's future career. 

One may also find a deep and abiding interest in a subject 
if one can see its relation to some larger work, the way it may 
help in achieving some larger purpose in life. Domestic 
science is often interesting because it is thought to be valuable 
in preparing the student for home making. So may other 
subjects be interesting if one only realize that studying them 
puts him into possession of the intellectual heritage of his 
people and makes him acquainted with the things that are 
common knowledge of educated people. Certain it is that 
domestic science, and manual training, and like subjects have 
given many students a new interest in all the school subjects 
and have helped solve problems of interest and truancy alike. 

The feeling of need. It is a commonplace of psychology 
that people give attention to those things that satisfy desires 
or needs. This fact is taken advantage of in the school in dif- 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 153 

ferent ways. The writer discovered this principle being used 
systematically by some of the teachers in The Dunwoody In- 
stitute in Minneapolis. The boys were taken, for example, to 
the shop. Here certain work was planned. But to do this 
work it would be necessary to solve some mathematical prob- 
lem. The boys were eager to begin the work on this particu- 
lar piece but were told that they would have to be able to work 
out the mathematical problem for themselves. This they 
could learn to do in the class in mathematics upstairs and they 
found the mathematics teacher ready to lay aside other press- 
ing matters and satisfy their desire to know how to do this 
problem. The members of this class showed unmistakable 
interest and good attention and all the mathematics teacher 
had to do was to explain the matter. Here, also, one finds a 
pretty example of correlation. 

On inquiry the teacher said that a very large number of the 
problems in mathematics could be made to come up in the 
shop and be thus answered in the class room. Where they 
could not, the problem was presented in the class room in such 
a way that the pupils recognized that they would need this 
work in the shop or elsewhere before long. 

Interest through special topics. In some of the schools 
which the writer has visited, he has found teachers assigning 
special topics to pupils. A problem would arise in the course 
of a recitation and, the pupils being unable to solve it, the 
teacher would ask one of the pupils if he would look up the 
matter and report it at the next recitation. Or a lesson would 
be assigned and the teacher would single out several topics of 
special significance and ask as many pupils to be prepared to 
talk on them next time, each pupil being given one of the 
topics. This plan seems to give very good results. The child- 
ren have been interested not only in their own reports but in 
the reports of other students and this interest has been accom- 
panied by increased interest in the regular assignments. 

Interest and the assignment of lessons. Making the assign- 
ment for the next lesson is a very important part of the teach- 
er's work. It is to be hoped that the old method of telling the 
pupils to "take the next chapter," or "take the next eight 
pages" will soon disappear from practice as it has from theory. 
There is nothing interesting about such an assignment. It 
does not arouse to a study attitude. It has, perhaps, no ad- 
vantage at all except that it saves the teacher the time of pre- 
paring the assignment. And the assignment should be pre- 



154 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

pared just as surely as the teaching itself should be prepared. 
The giving of the assignment is, in fact, a part of the teaching. 

Let us suppose that the "next chapter" is on capillary at- 
traction. What kind of a real assignment can be made? The 
writer suggests something like the following : It has been said 
that when one end of a small hollow glass tube open at both 
ends is put into water, the water will rise in the tube. If you 
lower one end of such a tube into the water, the water will rise 
inside the tube higher than the level of the water outside the 
tube? Will it always do this ? I want you to find out whether 
or not this is true, and if it is sometimes true, when it is true? 
You can find help in solving this on pages so and so in your 
text book. 

Such an assignment has at least some advantages. It is 
more interesting than the assignment first mentioned. It may 
arouse the pupil to try for himself to find out the truth of the 
matter. It suggests experiment and the teacher may add 
further suggestion for experimentation when he gives the as- 
signment. It is definite and not so likely to be forgotten as 
the other assignment. 

Utilizing manual activities. A boy in a local school was re- 
ported to be the worst that the truant officer had to deal with. 
Finally the boy was sent to a detention home for boys. It 
seemed as though no one could succeed in any way with the 
case. He stayed at the detention home for a few days and 
then ray away. He was later found and sent back to the home. 
Finally a man interested himself in the matter. Through his 
influence, the boy was admitted to one of the city schools again 
and allowed to take manual training. This was a special con- 
cession as he was below the age at which boys were permitted 
to take this subject. He became greatly interested, found an 
outlet for his desire to do things, and in a short time became 
one of the most efficient and trusted boys in the school. 

Use of the dramatic tendency. The failure of one teacher 
to interest her pupils in geography was remedied in the fol- 
lowing way. She had a 6th grade class and her pupils showed 
almost no interest in the subject. They seemed to do as little 
work in connection with the subject as possible and could tell 

hardly anything about the work from day to day. Miss 

told her class one day that they might act out things where 
they found it possible. The children devised, with the help 
of the teacher, ways and means of acting out some of the activ- 
ities of different peoples. They even got costumes for some 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 155 

occasions and brought in some objects to illustrate the lives 
and occupations of those whom they were studying. Interest 
was kindled. The children studied, either to put on something 
of their own or to see if those who did put it on did it right. 
This method gave opportunity for originality and ingenuity on 
the part of the pupils in working up their presentations. 
Geography in this school became one of the most interesting 
subjects instead of the least interesting as it had been. 

Sublimation. The energy aroused in connection with some 
of the strong emotions which may be misdirected, can very 
well be directed into higher channels so to speak, that is, it 
may be sublimated. During my student days I had a type- 
writer which did not do good work. It was not until I found 
a man rooming in the same house whose machine did better 
work than mine that I became somewhat indignant. This was 
partly due to the fact that I had paid a little more for my ma- 
chine than he had for his. The result was that I was determ- 
ined that my typewriter should work as well or better than his 
and two hours spent in taking it apart and putting it together 
again achieved my purpose. The point is that my indignation 
was turned to good account. The boy who likes to fight and 
who feels like fighting may be taught to direct his energy to 
overcoming problems or to protecting weaker companions 
from the school bully, instead of becoming a bully himself. 
Jealousy may be valuable if it is jealousy for one's reputation. 
These native tendencies may, with the proper suggestion, be 
turned to good account and the study attitude aroused and 
interest be developed in study. 

Action and feeling. Independent of any theory of emotion, 
the fact is that feelings and attitudes may be aroused by acting 
as thouah one had them. To be cheerful let one act cheer- 
fullv. To be attentive let one go through the motions of at- 
tending. Repeating the words of the instructor, writing notes, 
talking about the subject, or asking questions, have been found 
to help students. This action is likely to result in an interest 
before one realizes it. 

Centering interest in the pupil's activity. One of my stud- 
ents reports the following from her experience: "The boys in 
my Sunday School come to class every Sunday and sit and 
squirm around without ever listening to anything they are told. 
Last Sunday I turned the whole lesson over to them. It was 
review and was conducted in the following manner. One boy 
started a Bible story and when he had told some of it called on 
another boy. This boy continued and called on someone else. 



156 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

When one story was finished they started another and kept 
that going. I did not have to say much of anything and they 
seemed much more attentive and interested than they ever had 
before. They even got interested enough to ask the others to 
please call on them." 

Motivation through the activity of the pupil. A friend of 
mine, a very successful teacher, makes a great deal of use of 
the pupil's activity. The class visited the local water plant 
recently to get ideas in connection with civics. The trip raised 
many questions about the city government. The interest 
aroused by this trip was sufficient to keep the class discussing 
pertinent problems for several days and led them to look up 
various subjects in their books to find answers to their 
questions. 

In teaching English this teacher sends his class to look at 
something which is to be described and they then come in and 
write. The class I visited had recently gone to a room which 
was used for teaching wireless telegraphy and then had writ- 
ten a description of the room. Preparation for writing nar- 
ratives was made by having pupils ride in an auto, or on a car, 
or witness something which was going on in the busy part of 
the city; they then gave an account of what they had seen. 

These methods of arousing interest succeeded. And they 
had not only the immediate success needed for the writing and 
for the next day's discussion, but in many cases, if not in most 
cases, did that far more valuable thing. They aroused per- 
manent interests and sustained efforts in these subjects. They 
were not dead or semi-remote things existing only in text 
books. They were living realities discovered by the pupils 
who had been physically and mentally active in relation to 
them. 

"In almost any subject," wrote James, "your passion for your 
subject will save you. // you only care enough for a result, 
you will almost certainly attain it." Then follows the warn- 
ing: "Only you must not wish at the same time a hundred 
other incompatible things just as strongly." 

The development from interest to effort. If it is permissible 
to try to hold attention at first by appeal to the native tenden- 
cies and interest, it is not permissible to stop at that. No ed- 
ucation is complete. But any education which fails to include 
the use of effort as well as the use of interest has failed signally 
in one of the essentials. The world calls for those who can 
work for long periods on things that are often not interesting, 
on things that are arduous and unpleasant. And it calls more 



MAKING THE APPEAL TO THE STUDENT 157 

and more for men who can work, not for the immediate satis- 
fying of desires, but for ideals. 

We must then look at our problem of bringing about edu- 
cative activity from the point of view of effort. In doing this 
we shall look at the other side, so to speak, of mind. We have 
been looking at the feeling side. In discussing Attention and 
Sustained Effort, we shall look for the most part on the other 
side, for interest and attention are but obverse and reverse of 
the same thing; when we look at the intellectual aspect we 
find attention; when we look at the feeling side we find in- 
terest. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Show how the actions of an individual are the result of 
an interaction between the stimulus and the tendencies to 
react. 

2. Show how the teacher's work is to arouse and direct the 
activities he desires. 

3. Why is unnecessary repression wrong? 

4. Comment on some of the things in and conditions of the 
present day school that make for inactivity and suppression 
instead of making for activity and direction of activity. 

5. What is meant by making the appeal to the student? To 
what is the appeal made, specifically and definitely? 

6. Compare the motivation of school work with the motiv- 
ation of work done outside of the school. Can you see any 
way or ways in which the motivation of school work can be 
made more like that of every-day life where men are aroused 
to do long and arduous tasks? 

7. Try to study out for yourself what kinds of appeal you 
think you could most successfully make. 

8. How would kinds of appeal differ because of the age and 
the mentality of the person appealed to? 

9. How far is it permissible to make school work merely 
pleasant and play? Can the play appeal be overdone? 

REFERENCES. 

James, W. Talks to Teachers. Henrv Holt, 1904, Chs. 6, 7, and 10. 

Kirkpatrick, E. A. Fundamentals of Child Study. The Macmillan 
Co., 1913, Chs. on instincts. 

Tanner, A. E. The Child. Rand, McNallv & Co., 1917. 

Thorndike, E. L. Educational Psychology, Vol. 1. The Original 
Nature of Man, 1913. Teachers College, Columbia University. Also 
Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, 1915, Part 1. 

H. G. Wilson and G. M. Wilson. Motivation of School Work, 1916, 
Houghton, Mifflin Co. 



Chapter 13 
ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT. 

From interest to effort. The preceding chapter has dealt 
with the arousing of activity which is, for the most part, pleas- 
ant, easy, interesting, and free from that which we may call 
effort on the part of the student. We have just said, if edu- 
cation may begin with that which is thus pleasant and inter- 
esting, it does not follow that all education may be of this soft- 
er kind. Such an education has not prepared the student for 
the difficult, unpleasant, arduous tasks of adult life. Those 
who understand psychology and the demands of life, can I 
think, have no question as to the need for this training that re- 
quires the student to do some things which require effort. 

In the present chapter we shall try to show how the doing of 
the unpleasant, the arduous, that which requires effort on the 
part of the learner, may and often does, grow naturally out of 
the pleasant and interesting activities. Some of the things 
already said and some of the examples already given show 
this. Here we are especially interested in effort, and shall 
deal with the subject so as to show how we may begin with a 
simple, primary kind of attention, how we may at a higher 
stage of education bring about a secondary or voluntary at- 
tention, and how this higher kind of attention may grow into 
a derived primary, or habitual, attention, which is more stable 
and sustained than the first kind, and which may be accom- 
panied with the pleasantness and interest of the first kind. 

The need for attention. Without attention no study! The 
better the attention, the better all intellectual work, observa- 
tion, memory, reasoning, or whatever it may be. Inattention 
has been placed at the top of a list of faults, and crimes of 
school children. Many of us have still clear in memory, much 
clearer than the things we were supposed to learn, the request 
of the teacher for our "undivided attention." Students have 
often asked me how they could get better habits of concen- 
tration, this being their greatest difficulty. Nothing, perhaps, 
disturbs the student more than this tendency of the mind to 
wander. All that we have said in the last chapter may apply 
here but we are now to look at the matter definitely from the 
point of view of attention. 

158 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 159 

Kinds or stages of attention. Before attempting to suggest 
methods that have been found to be practically valuable in 
bringing about good attention it will be worth while to note 
the kinds or stages of attention. The student of psychology 
is familiar with terms "voluntary," "involuntary," and "non- 
voluntary" in connection with attention. The classification 
of attention which seems most useful for our purpose is that 
of Titchener. He uses the terms "primary," "secondary," 
and "derived primary." (115). 

Primary attention. Primary, or as it is sometimes called, 
passive attention, is the kind that is determined by the things 
going on about us. A loud noise, a bright object, a change in 
the sound of the automobile engine, brings this kind of atten- 
tion. This attention is attracted first to one thing and then to 
another; it is held to one thing only if there is not relatively 
greater distraction. It is the kind of attention that we find in 
lower animals, and in people as they walk along the street and 
are led to notice objects in the shop windows. One learns in 
this stage of attention. And one learns many valuable things. 
But the learning is dependent upon the appeal to the mind by 
external things. Anything may distract and the learning be 
interrupted. In animals and young children, we find, for the 
most part, only this kind of attention, and they therefore fail 
in one of the things essential to study. 

The conditions of primary attention. If the teacher could 
control the mind so as to have this attention to the subjects of 
study whenever and as long as he wished, the task of teaching 
would be as easy as the most hopeful would wish. But the 
passing auto truck, the sounds in the corridor, the memory of 
last night's dance, the expectation of the picnic next Saturday, 
the subject for debate, the mistake that lost us the game, the 
tendency to think about something in the shop, run the keen- 
est competition to the attractions offered by the teacher. 

The conditions that the teacher can use are already taking 
the student along some line of thought. There is never a time 
when a person is not attentive to something if he be awake. 
The problem is to determine the conditions so that attention 
will be directed to the subject of study. These conditions are 
vividness or intensity, novelty, suddenness, continued repe- 
tition, familiarity, movement, cessation of stimulus, change of 
stimulus, and leaving aside the technicalities of scientific psy- 
chology, interest. 



160 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Vividness or intensity of the stimulus. It is obvious that the 
teacher may make the sound of the voice very forceful and 
not without good results on many occasions. The very earn- 
estness and forcefulness of many speakers often reach their 
hearers when no other quality is present that would command 
attention. I know one professor who is often called upon to 
give commencement addresses and nothing more than his very 
earnestness holds his audience in close attention. But I also 
remember another professor whose lectures I attended and 
whose intensity missed the mark. He was in the habit of 
raising his voice, pounding upon the desk and reaching a 
closed fist out over the desk where he shook it at the class. My 
attention was attracted to be sure. I sat on the front seat and 
had the full benefit. But my attention more than once was 
attracted to the actions themselves and to the wondering if 
his white cuff would not some day fall off in my lap and I have 
the pleasure of returning it to him. 

Change of stimulus. Lowering the voice is often very ef- 
fective. I have often brought a class of boys to quiet by start- 
ing to talk in a voice so low that they could not hear and found 
that they would stop their noise and ask one another to be 
quiet so as to hear what I had to say. I recall a very im- 
pressive bit of advice given me by a teacher in a very low 
voice; so low, in fact, that I had to strain a little to hear. I 
recall also hearing the same teacher make a public address 
which was a dismal failure. The whole reason being that the 
voice was too low and the effort to attend was altogether too 
great. The changing of the intensity of the stimulus is then 
not without its disadvantages, though it may sometimes be 
utilized successfully. 

Novelty. The discussion of novelty will bring us to see as 
we must how interest is involved in very much of our atten- 
tion. The new attracts attention and it is likely also to be in- 
teresting, at least, for a short time. Many ways have been 
successfully tried to keep attention through novelty. New 
questions, written instead of oral recitation, debate on the 
subject, pupils questioning, new illustrations, new order, sum- 
maries, a new record to make, applications to a new problem 
at home, in business, or in the school, — these and many others 
have proved useful. One of my students reports that when 
other things had failed to keep attention and interest in ad- 
dition, one teacher aroused almost tireless effort in the adding 
of columns of figures by using a new incentive. Those who 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 161 

added all the columns of figures without making any mistakes 
were "given bank positions." Imaginary salaries were also 
offered. Accuracy and speed were soon at a premium. The 
interest kept up for a long time. 

Familiarity. Everyone realizes that the familiar object, or 
idea, or sound is naturally pleasing. As we read the evening 
paper the eye falls on the familiar words and we are pleased 
to look through the articles on familiar topics, that is, of 
course, if we have not already had too much of them. Those 
who are acquainted with children are continually impressed 
with the fact that children ask again and again for the stories 
they have heard until an adult would expect that they had 
grown tiresome. It is true that the new is interesting only 
when it is related in some way with something which is famil- 
iar. That which arouses the old associations, the old tenden- 
cies, is necessary to give interest and to hold attention. 

The concrete. It must be remembered that these factors 
that determine attention are found best in concrete situations. 
One of the instructors in physics whom I know finds the con- 
crete holds the attention to things not intrinsically interesting. 
What is an erg of work? The student is not aroused to en- 
thusiasm by the question. This instructor brings out the 
matter so as to hold attention throughout. He takes one milli- 
gram weight on which gravity acts with the force of approx- 
imately one dyne. He then with seeming effort raises it by 
means of a pair of tweezers, elevates it to the upper surface 
of a block one centimeter high and then informs his class that 
he has done one erg of work by causing a force of one dyne to 
be exerted through a distance of one centimeter. 

The definite and concrete. In a class of children most of 
whom were below the average in mathematical ability, as 
shown by school grades the writer found the following method 
very successful in arousing interest and also clear ideas of the 
problem to be solved. The lesson was to teach how to deter- 
mine the circumference if the diameter were given. The 
teacher took a piece of wood, one inch square and about 
twelve inches long. With a pair of dividers he described a 
circle whose circumference was tangent with each of the four 
sides of the square end of the stick. 

The teacher then gave the class the dimensions of the piece 
of wood. He then asked how long a string it would take to 
just go around the stick. Next, how long a string would it 
take if the stick were put into a lathe and turned down so that 



162 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

it would be round and just the size of the circle which he had 
drawn on the end? Not quite four inches but more than 
three. Well, exactly how long must it be? The teacher had 
very successfully aroused the desire of the pupils to know how 
to solve the problem. 

Contrast this method with the common method of attempt- 
ing to teach problems in mathematics with no such concrete, 
definite presentation to the pupils. Once trying the new is 
sufficient to demonstrate to the teacher its superiority. 

Secondary or voluntary attention. We have said that prim- 
ary attention is not likely to be sustained. The tendency to 
study that the teacher is trying to arouse and keep going is all 
the time being interfered with by the tendency of the student 
to respond to all those other stimuli of which we have spoken. 
We say that the mind tends to wander. Most of our educa- 
tion goes on, not in this primary attention, but in secondary 
attention. In other words study is hard work. It requires 
effort. There must be a conflict of impulses and, if the work 
is to go as it should, the impulse to "stick to it," to go in the 
line of greater resistance, must win. Suppose, then, that the 
student can think his problem through to the end even though 
other things arouse impulses to shift his attention to them. 
He compels himself to write his essay instead of thinking of a 
dance or a football game. He follows the lecture, or outlines 
the chapter notwithstanding the desire to do something else. 
He is working in the stage of secondary, or as it is sometimes 
called, voluntary attention. 

Derived primary or habitual attention. At any time now 
the conflict may cease; there may no longer be any effort to 
attend. The subject, may, so to speak, hold the student. The 
sound of voices nearby, the noises of the street, the call to 
dinner even, may go unnoticed. The student is now working 
in the stage of derived or, it may be called, habitual attention. 
This is a stable, sustained, untroubled attention, in which dis- 
turbances are no longer distractions. This is the attention 
commonly found in the inventor, or the research worker. 

The conditions of secondary and derived attention. The 
native tendencies. We have already spoken of the tendencies 
that may be aroused and of the feelings that indicate favorable 
conditions for study. The desire to improve, curiosity, emu- 
lation, pride in one's accomplishments, desire for the approval 
of successful people, dissatisfaction at one's own shortcomings 
are likely to mean greater efforts. Obviously, if a person is 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 163 

sufficiently interested, if he have a passion for the work, the 
attention will almost surely be sustained. It is necessary only 
that the right suggestion, the right appeal of people or things, 
or events arouse the desired disposition for study. 

The arousal of sustained attention. Determination, pur- 
pose, realization of the value of the results of study, the ex- 
pectation of advantage to be gained, are closely related to the 
best kind of attention. I am indebted to Dean Coffman for 
the story of a boy who was aroused to this kind of effort by 
that more vigorous method than is now supposed to be fash- 
ionable. The boy had been sentenced to one of our state pen- 
itentaries and began his record in the institution by breaking 
the machine at which he was put to work. The overseer re- 
paired the machine and informed the boy that he would be 
sent to the superintendent if he broke the machine again. 
Very shortly the boy broke the machine again and was sent to 
the superintendent. The latter informed him that he should 
go back to work and added that in case the machine was again 
broken he would thrash him. The boy fulfilled the require- 
ments for the thrashing, received it and spent the night pacing 
his cell. The guards reported that he had not slept at all 
during the night. 

The next day his conduct changed. He went to work and 
from that day worked faithfully. He also began to read and 
study and took the best books he could find from the library. 
His term in the penitentiary was shortened and the day he was 
released he called on the superintendent. Do you remember, 
he asked, the day you thrashed me for breaking a machine? 
Yes. Well, you did not know what I was thinking. No. I 
was thinking that I would be the best citizen that was possible 
or the greatest criminal that the world had ever seen. And I 
decided to be the greatest criminal. I also decided that in 
order to be the greatest criminal the world had ever known I 
must be well educated and know the things that other people 
knew, so I took the best books I could find. But as I read 
those books they made me think it over again and again and 
finally I concluded that I was wrong. Now I am going out to 
be the best citizen that I can be. 

The point in which I am interested here is that through 
strong measures the boy was brought to the determination to 
study and that long continued effort resulted. I have used 
corporal punishment myself and never without good results; 
sustained effort and good or excellent work followed. But 



164 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

one must use judgment and no rule can determine when one 
should use strength or when one might better take a boy for 
an afternoon's trip as my first case illustrated. Needless to 
say corporal punishment should be used only in the last re- 
sort. It should never degenerate into the brutality which was 
the just cause for its being thrown into disrepute. 

We would be blind, indeed, if we overlooked the fact that 
human beings are moved as much or more by their pains as 
by the beckonings of pleasure. Pleasure and pain have been 
called the great educators of the world. Fear (30) and anger 
(29) , if rightly directed, may be counted upon as great educa- 
tive forces. 

The demand for study is not a siren call and the pains and 
discomforts that are necessary to move men to work are ap- 
propriate for the same reason as regards study, for study is 
work. 

Appeal made through the removal of privileges. A few 
years ago one of our Minneapolis judges told of a delinquent 
whom he had sent to the reformatory. The boy seemed to be 
utterly hardened. No appeal reached him. Nothing would 
bring him to a desire to obey the authorities. Later they be- 
gan to remove privileges, one after another, to see if they could 
find anything that would touch a tender spot. Finally they 
refused to let him see his mother. This was the thing for 
which he really cared and he soon promised and performed 
faithfully all the authorities desired. 

Appeal to an habitual tendency. The appeal to an habitual 
tendency often brings the desired result. A principal of one 
of the Minnesota high schools told me of a boy who absolutely 
refused to work for a certain teacher. He told the principal 
that she was "down on him," she was unjust to him; would 
not give him a chance; he did not intend to do any work for 
her and did not care if he failed in the subject. The principal 
had noticed that he was always courteous to ladies. He at 
once appealed to the boy to consider her not as a teacher but 
as a lady and to realize that even if she were unjust it would 
be well for him to think not of teacher and pupil, but of gen- 
tleman and lady and to take the initiative. This appealed to 
the boy and a reconciliation was effected. 

The passing of secondary attention into derived primary 
attention. The derived primary, which is an absorbed, sus- 
tained, attention is the best kind for study. It comes about 
when the conflict of impulses ceases; when the ideas present, 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 165 

the determination, the purpose, win out over the distractions 
and there is no longer the effort to attend. This happens 
when the conditions of secondary attention are strong enough 
to hold attention relatively independent of distraction. Any 
of the factors that arouse interest and hold attention may do 
this; they must do it so that the disposition to continue re- 
mains. On the nervous side we have, in this highest stage of 
attention, permanent dispositions to work or study or to attend 
along certain lines. 

The best attention is had with slight distraction. Not only 
in every day work but in the laboratory it is found that the 
best attention is had when some slight distraction is present. 
It is this disturbance that seems to be necessary to arouse one 
to real effort. The overcoming of some difficulty means more 
earnest endeavor. It may be that the student will do well to 
practise studying where there is considerable noise; not that 
the distraction helps the study but that the ability to study in 
any kind of a situation is worth developing into a habit. The 
ability of students to study in the old fashioned country school, 
or even in many schools now where there is a recitation going 
on, is well worth remembering. One might say then, that for 
the best attention, one should have slight distraction; but for 
developing the habit of concentration one should practise 
studying in any and every kind of a situation in which one 
finds oneself. 

Hindrances to good attention: The feeling of fatigue, vs. 
fatigue. Professor Thorndike summarizes a study of mental 
fatigue as follows: "Six subjects worked continuously from 
three to eight hours on the mental manipulation of one three- 
place number by another. Ten subjects worked from four to 
twelve hours with pauses for meals. All subjects did from a 
half -hour's to an hour's work on a following day. Only three 
out of the sixteen subjects did as well at the end of work as 
after rest. The greatest fatigue effect came after a work 
period of about five hours, the smallest (except in the three 
negative cases) after a work period of almost nine hours. The 
subjects who were most efficient and worked most rapidly 
showed a smaller loss through fatigue than did the less effi- 
cient workers. Inspection of the records shows that the re- 
sults are probably a compound of a gradually decreasing 
practice effect with a gradually increasing fatigue effect. There 
seems to be "little correlation between the fact of fatigue and 



166 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

the feeling of fatigue." (112). An excellent study of fatigue 
has been made by OfTner (72). 

It is well to understand the distinction between fatigue and 
the feeling of fatigue. Weariness, or the feeling of fatigue, 
is generally followed by a wandering of the attention and a 
general relaxation of effort. Recent studies of fatigue, as the 
above quotation indicates, prove that the feeling of fatigue 
can be pushed back for an astonishingly long time and that 
excellent work can continue much longer than we commonly 
suppose. Laziness and habit probably account for the un- 
necessarily early onset of weariness which is popularly con- 
fused with fatigue itself. Fatigue, let it be remembered, is 
actual inefficiency or lack of ability for further work, and it 
is not to be thought of as synonomous with the feeling of 
fatigue; nor is the latter to be considered a safe indication of 
real fatigue. 

When the feeling of fatigue caused, perhaps, as it often is, 
by nothing more than a dislike for the work in hand, wears 
off, one may go on for hours and do as well as, or better than, 
he did before the onset of the feeling. Less attention to feel- 
ings would be better for most of us; nevertheless, denial of 
fatigue and disregard of weariness after a reasonable period 
of study, is extreme and hazardous; a tendency in that direc- 
tion today, seems to indicate a misinterpretation of the results 
of fatigue experiments and a dangerous attitude so far as 
health is concerned. 

Emotional and intellectual factors. Needless to say excit- 
ing emotions disturb study. Adolescent changes are correlat- 
ed with some retardation in school work. So far as possible 
these disturbing factors should be eliminated and, where this 
is impossible, they should be reduced to a minimum. 

Study is also disturbed by other factors of a different nature. 
Students are often troubled by not knowing just what to do 
next; or by failing to have clearly in mind just how to proceed. 
This is well illustrated by an incident that happened in one of 
our Minneapolis schools a short time ago. The teacher had 
taught a lesson in arithmetic and then told the class to do all 
the examples on a certain page but to omit the first. One boy 
failed to get started and finally the teacher went over to him 
and asked just what the trouble was. At last he admitted: 
"I don't know how to omit the first." The case may be rare 
but the kind of difficulty is typical of many instances where 
the mind wanders. 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 16Z 

Lack of technique and of instruments. Getting started, 
finding instruments, pencil, pen, or what not, divert attention 
and according to Breslich (11) ten to fifteen minutes are often 
wasted by high school students getting down to work. The 
difficulties in the actual doing continually tend to break up 
sustained effort. Again and again one can observe in the lab- 
oratory a student who has not the technique, and who fails or 
does work clumsily and then turns to watch someone else. 

Bad suggestions and failure to try. If good suggestions are 
valuable to help the student get into a study attitude and to 
study with sustained effort, it is also of importance that sug- 
gestions to listlessness and ease be eliminated so far as pos- 
sible. Many people fail to do things merely because they fail 
to try. And they may fail to try simply because of the lack of 
incentive and the presence of suggestions to ease and comfort. 
One should not hesitate to get away from the wrong sugges- 
tions be they places or persons, to seek the stimulating en- 
vironment and then to try. To move the lips, to take up the 
pen, to begin to say the lesson to oneself, if nothing more to 
make believe one is studying, may be all that is necessary to 
bring on a study fit. (44) . 

Self government and sustained effort. Responsibility and 
the feeling that it is my work are important factors in conduct. 
In a small high school, of about 60 or 70 students, there had 
been a great deal of trouble and very poor discipline. The 
school work had necessarily suffered very much. The diffi- 
culty was due partly to the activities of a "gang", and partly 
to the fact that the teachers had failed to "reach" or make the 
right appeal to the students. 

Finally a young man who believed in self government was 
made superintendent. He told the young people that he ex- 
pected them to govern themselves. At first chaos reigned. 
Soon the leaders of the gang called a meeting of the entire 
student body. A self governing association was formed. To- 
day it is one of the best governed high schools. 

As one of the students said: These people who had never 
been interested in school activities, because they thought the 
teachers were running them, formed clubs. One, a literary 
club which has given some enjoyable entertainments, was the 
cause of a fine victrola being placed in the assembly room. 
Another literary club has established a school paper which is 
published once a month. The students have entire charge of 
these things and because they feel that they control the enter- 



168 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

prises and are responsible, they take great interest in making 
everything the best possible. 

Self government aided by a school paper. An eighth grade 
class in one of the public schools of St. Paul publishes a school 
magazine every month. The pupils formerly had it typewrit- 
ten. Now the father of one of the boys has it printed for the 
class. A large portion of the class are on the staff. They have 
some worth while poetry, a few original essays, school news, 
personals, and jokes as well as editorials. 

Through the columns the children try to enforce self govern- 
ment. They comment on the fact that they have "found two 

boys who cannot be trusted out of Miss 's sight." "Lost, 

some time from study, because a member of the class acted 
up." They state that they want "brighter boots and smoother 
hair at nine A. M." They also want "Less home study for over 
Saturday, Sunday, and other holidays." They want their 
room to be "as nearly a perfect room as we can make it." One 
item said that "A certain person should worry more about his 
character. Most of us would be ashamed if the reading teach- 
er had to speak to us." 

There are also comments on good work done, such as, "We 

have all noticed how well the boards look after has 

washed them." Mention of those who have done good work 
frequently appears in the editorial column. 

The children do very well in getting out this little magazine. 
They take great delight in all the work and do not object to 
writing essays or to any task which may be theirs to help in 
getting the material ready. They encourage the best actions 
in the school and plainly show their disapproval of bad acts." 

A teacher's personal interest, trust, and right direction of a 
boy's activities. John was a bright active boy in the eighth 
grade. He liked to "cut up," and although not malicious was 
a great disturbance. He was very stubborn and both teachers 
and parents failed to get him to conduct himself as he should. 
He often did not realize the wrongs he did. He learned that 
threats that were made were not carried out, and he became 
openly defiant and distrustful. 

Finally he got to high school and entered a week late. His 
new teacher found out what he wanted and made out his pro- 
gram. She also made arrangements to meet him to help him 
make up the work he had lost. At the times she met him in 
this way she learned what John wanted to be when he got 
older. He wanted to be a doctor, and she advised him about 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 169 

his course, told him about the course at the university and how 
hard it was and how hard he would have to study to get 
through it. She also impressed him with the necessity of 
learning to study while in high school in order that he might 
be able to do the work when he entered the university. She 
paid little attention to his pranks and drew his attention to 
the things he should do and could do. Her sincere interest in 
his desires and ambitions and her confidence in him coupled 
with her doing exactly what she said she would, won his re- 
spect and confidence in her. His attitude changed for the 
better and he became an earnest student. 

Sharing in activities. Throughout high school a certain 
class was noted for its many class "scraps." It seemed im- 
possible for the class to plan anything without some group 
making trouble. If one group had charge, other members of 
the class would criticise the arrangements. Groups formed so 
that members of one group were continually at odds with 
members of other groups. During the senior year a girl was 
elected president of the class who solved the difficulty by 
giving each individual some part in arrangements for the class 
activities. The first class affair was a party given by the class 
for the faculty. The president chose as chairman of the com- 
mittees the girls who had made trouble; each chairman elect- 
ed his or her own committee. By dividing the work sufficient- 
ly all of the members of the class had some share and as a re- 
sult no trouble arose and the best party of the four years took 
place. 

Pride and interest in one's own achievement. One teacher 
was very much interested in teaching nature. In order to get 
the class interested she divided the class into sections and gave 
each section a plot of ground for a garden. Each section was 
to try to have the prettiest garden and to do it without help. 
Interest in the gardens was great and competition keen as each 
group wanted to have the best garden. Each child seemed to 
have the interest and pride of ownership and of achievement. 

Appeal to sympathy and the sense of responsibility. During 
a study of classroom methods by one of my students, the fol- 
lowing example of successful appeal to an unruly class was 
discovered. I give it nearly in the words of the report. One 
of the teachers of a grade school in a small town was having 
her first experience with an unruly class, mostly boys. She 
tried every means of correction of which she could think but 
had failed. Her pupils knew she was inexperienced so were 



170 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

"trying her out," and from their point of view, were succeed- 
ing admirably. One afternoon, tired and discouraged, she 
decided to resort to a last measure. When the pupils assem- 
bled after recess she told them that she felt so ill that probably 
she could not be there the next day, but that they were to come 
and to try to get a few exercises done by themselves. Also, if 
they had time and wanted to, they were to make a map which 
she explained to them. She stated that it would please her if 
they would be as quiet as possible and try not to disturb the 
other rooms. With this she dismissed the class early and 
went home leaving the children with the feeling that they 
would be responsible for their own actions. 

When she returned, the exercises were written and placed 
on her desk. Most of the children had finished maps. Favor- 
able reports came from the other teachers who had been ask- 
ed not to interfere unless the room got too noisy. During the 
day she had several inquiries concerning her health, and one 
or two of the most "desperate" boys even said that they were 
sorry that they had caused her trouble. After that the room 
seemed a different place. Each student felt that he was re- 
sponsible for any disturbance of the class and there was little 
trouble from that time. 

A position of responsibility. A certain young man had been 
at the St. Cloud Reformatory in Minnesota for several years. 
He was twenty-two years of age. On three occasions he had 
broken his parole. Each time he had been caught and re- 
turned to the institution. Finally the superintendent thought 
he saw possibilities of another kind in him and made him 
manager of the dining room in the reformatory. • A change 
was soon apparent. The boy saw to it that things went on as 
they should in the dining room and his own conduct changed 
greatly. So well did he succeed that he was given his dis- 
missal from the institution a year later. 

Improvement from within. A fundamental principle which 
appears in many studies is illustrated in the following case. 
This principle is one that is not at all new, but is held alto- 
gether too much in theory alone. Not what some outsider 
does for a group, but what the group does for itself, is the im- 
portant thing. What the group decides, what it works for, it 
values and is ready to defend. 

In one of the schools of Minneapolis where most of the 
children were Scandanavian, there happened to be a little 
Italian boy. The children fell into the habit of teasing him. 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 171 

He was especially sensitive about his inability to speak English 
very well. The teasing continued until the children had 
worked him up to the point of chasing them with an open 
knife which he threatened to use on them. After an actual 
attempt to stab one of the boys a teacher called the children 
together and told them that she thought they should take up 
the matter, have a court and jury and decide what should be 
done. 

A judge and jury were chosen from among the offending 
boys. The matter of justice was placed in the hands of the 
jury. The tormenters told their story and the Italian boy told 
his. The jury decided that the American citizens had placed 
the foreign boy in a very disadvantageous position inasmuch 
as he knew the English language but little. They decided that 
they had not given him a square deal and the verdict was, in 
their own words, "Give the dago a chance." A short time 
afterwards the Italian boy, who had been accepted as one of 
the crowd, was making rapid progress in adapting to the new 
group. The boys had solved their problem and the friction 
disappeared. 

The direction of attention. What shall be noticed, remem- 
bered, understood, and the accuracy and faithfulness of 
memory depend upon the things that are attended to. There 
is the question of the attitude of the student and of the pres- 
ence or absence of goal ideas. Goal ideas may be either use- 
ful or harmful. If one wishes to make an exhaustive study 
of an object, a reaction in chemistry or the anatomy of a tissue, 
definite ideas of what he is to see may too much limit the at- 
tention and cause important things to be overlooked; again, 
the knowledge of what should appear aids in the actual find- 
ing of what is expected. But again, and it cannot be too much 
emphasized, the observer may see or think he sees things 
which are not there if he only has sufficiently strong expecta- 
tion of them. 

Briefly, economy is gained in the discovery of things if one 
has definite ideas of what he is looking for, which means that 
the field of exploration is limited and attention is relieved of 
much which is beside the mark. But one should never limit 
the attention by expectation to such an extent that he cannot 
observe the entirely new, that which has not been imagined or 
expected, but which, however, may be very valuable. 

Control of action through control of attention. A social 
worker found a group of boys who were trying to tie a tin can 



172 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

on a dog's tail. "Boys," he said, "I can show you how to tie a 
knot that won't come untied." The boys gathered around 
him. The knot was demonstrated. "I can show you the best 
kind of a knot for tying a horse so that he cannot get away." 
The boys became very much interested and the dog made good 
his escape. Pieces of rope and string were produced and the 
boys began to learn how to tie different kinds of knots. The 
dog was forgotten and they found a new interest in learning 
how to do something worth while. 

The directing of native tendencies. An excellent illustra- 
tion of the result of good leadership and the utilizing of native 
tendencies was reported to me as follows: "In Litchfield, 
Minn., there was at one time a crowd of boys, from fifteen to 
eighteen years of age, who, though not bad, were a cause of 
many great annoyances to the town. They were not really 
bad, but extremely mischievious. There came to the town a 
new Methodist minister. Though not particularly successful 
as a preacher, he liked boys and knew how to manage them. 
In a short time he had organized these boys into an athletic 
association, organized in the first place, merely for play and 
games, but rapidly it became a club for organized athletics. 
The Y. M. A. C, or Young Men's Athletic Club, as it was called 
began to talk over the town affairs, social work and politics, 
as they heard the older men talk. When state elections came 
they were as interested in the outcome as were their fathers. 
As soon as they were well organized, the minister stepped out 
of the executive, staff and allowed the boys to govern them- 
selves entirely, coming to him only for advice as they wished 
it. 

As their interest in the club grew, their interest in the town's 
welfare grew, and they became a potent factor in maintaining 
order in Litchfield. An ordinance had been passed that no 
storekeeper could have sign boards or advertisements of any 
kind out on the side walks cluttering up the streets. When- 
ever the boys saw any such advertisements, they reported the 
storekeepers to the town authorities. At home they had heard 
their mothers talk of the uncleanliness of having fruit, etc., on 
open stands in front of fruit stores. The boys took the matter 
in hand and fairly boycotted one Greek who insisted on keep- 
ing fruit uncovered. They carried their protests to such an 
extent that the authorities finally took it up and issued an 
ordinance prohibiting food to be displayed on uncovered 
stands. 



ATTENTION AND SUSTAINED EFFORT 173 

The loyalty of the boys to one another and the harmony and 
zest with which they worked under their sixteen year old 
president was a marvel to the inhabitants. Although they 
joked at a club for such young boys, they soon found them- 
selves and their town greatly benefitted by the work of the 
organization." 

The value of a purpose. Meumann, in his book, The Psy- 
chology of Learning, says that having a purpose seems to make 
for better and easier accomplishment. From the laboratory 
to everyday life the ability to connect a smaller work with 
some larger purpose makes it easier to do and seems to bring 
better results. So much is this so that he concludes that there 
is here a universal law of mind. 

A boy may fail in school, but if he has a purpose, may make 
a great success in life; or your honor student, lacking a pur- 
pose and determination, may go down in failure in later years. 
Purpose and determination turn failure into success, and the 
world is a place in which men wrest victory from defeat. It 
is often noted as students go on into high school and into col- 
lege that, as they acquire a purpose, their work shows a cor- 
responding improvement. Why is it that many students, as 
they begin their professional work show the ability to do a 
quality of work that they have never before shown? Partly 
because of higher requirements. But it is safe to assert that, 
for a very larger number, the improvement is due to the de- 
veloping of a definite aim, purpose, determination. A recent 
research gives results of recall with and without determination 
to recall; and shows that the presence of determination to re- 
call may improve the actual recall by as much as 147 per 
cent. (70). 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. If education may begin with the pleasant and interesting 
and easy, why should it not end with these? Show fully and 
carefully what more is necessary and why. 

2. How does the psychology of attention show the "higher 
results" that should be obtained through education? 

3. Explain the need of attention for all learning of what- 
soever kind. 

4. Give examples to show how you would get each of the 
three kinds or stages of attention. 



174 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

5. How far does the control of attention settle the problem 
of discipline and of better school work? 

6. Compare the results of teaching in the abstract and in 
the concrete. Take examples from your own experience. 

7. Is it right to say, in teaching always begin with the con- 
crete and end with the abstract? 

8. Do you think that the school provides sufficiently for 
training students to do long and arduous tasks? Discuss this. 

9. Discuss the problem of interest in connection with 
school work. How can the teacher obtain it? How can he 
teach the student to obtain it? 

10. Cite some examples in your experience where sustain- 
ed effort was brought about, 1) by arousing interest, 2) by co- 
ercion. 

11. Explain the value of getting continued attention and 
effort of a group by helping it to make changes from within 
the group rather than because of coercion from without. 

12. How far can one control attention and thereby action 
by arousing ideas and purposes? 

REFERENCES. 
Bagley, W. C. Classroom Management. The Macmillan Co. 1907, 
Chs. 9, 10, 11 and 12. 
James, W. The Energies of Men. Psychol. Rev., Vol. 16, 1907, 1, ff. 
Swift, E. J. Youth and the Race. Ch. Scribners, 1912. 



Chapter 14. 
FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION. 

Habit extends to feeling. The instability that we common- 
ly note in the life of the feelings may often lead us to doubt 
whether or not there is anything permanent in connection 
with our feelings. We are pleased with one thing one day 
and displeased with it the next. Something has satisfied us 
for weeks, but all of a sudden we decide that we are tired of it. 

On the other hand, we find ourselves saying that old friends 
are best. We turn back to the old accustomed authors and 
delight in the music with which we are familiar. In the emer- 
gencies of life we fall back upon the old customs and the old 
beliefs. In fact, when we depend upon what we consider the 
stability of a man's character we depend upon what we believe 
or know to be his habitual way of acting in terms of certain 
sentiments of right and justice, etc. When we plan enter- 
tainments for our friends we plan in terms of what we know 
they like and are interested in. 

In the education of our children we are certainly hoping 
that we shall succeed in getting them to like and be satisfied 
only with certain worthy and acceptable things and actions; 
and that they shall dislike and be dissatisfied with certain 
other unworthy and unacceptable things and actions. We hope 
that noble desires will become permanent, and ignoble desires 
will die out. Perhaps nowhere do our feeling habits appear 
more strikingly ingrained than in some such case as the way 
in which we like a certain chair, or place to read or study, or 
certain of our old haunts; or in what we term cravings, such 
as the craving for strong drink or tobacco, or the symphony 
if we have been accustomed to it and are deprived of it for a 
year or two. 

In the extremity we fly to the old beliefs. Through life we 
have the same old illogical fears that were implanted in child- 
hood. One child gets into the habit of flying into a rage if 
things cross him; it may be the severest struggle of adult life 
to control this habit and not fly into a rage. Another child is 
taught to be good natured and smile when he desires anything 
from his parents. It becomes the habit of his life. The child 

175 



176 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

cares little for the classical music or literature but he hears it 
at home and at school. He may tire of it. Repetition may 
make him weary of it. But there is implanted in him an ap- 
petite, perhaps, a craving for it, which is a permanent acquis- 
ition. 

The opposing tendencies. Here we seem to have a contra- 
diction; repetition blunts feelings but it also develops per- 
manent desires, appetites, cravings, and the like. Sully has 
told us in this connection: "Our permanent surroundings and 
manner of life tend to grow indifferent, that is, to lose all or 
most of their affective concomitants. This applies at once to 
our pleasures and to our pains. Thus we get used, that is, 
comparatively indifferent, to surroundings, companions, lines 
of activity, which, when they were new, were highly enjoy- 
able, or, on the other hand, particularly agreeable." But, also, 
Sully writes: "The process of organic adjustment or accommo- 
dation just referred to is less simple than we have supposed. 
Exercise tends to strengthen an organ, and is one main con- 
dition of organic growth. One important result of this is that 
stimuli, which were at first fatiguing and so painful, may with 
repeated application become pleasurable. Thus an amount 
of muscle-work or brain-work, which is at first unpleasant, 
may with increase of functional power become enjoyable. 
Another effect tending to disguise the general decay of feeling 
is due to its increasing complication as experience advances 
and associations form themselves. In this way our friends, 
our books, and so forth, though losing some of their pristine 
charm, become endeared by associations. The action of as- 
sociation leads on to the influence of Habit in the domain of 
feeling. What remains with us, what we habitually see, and 
habitually do, while it loses its keen pleasurableness, gener- 
ates through habit an attachment or clinging of mind which 
betrays itself whenever it is removed. Jennie Deans, feeling 
strange and lost in her London surroundings, and longing to 
get back to her familiar scenes, is an example of this effect. 
Every sudden rupture in our experience, as the loss of a famil- 
iar friend, shows the same force of custom in producing an 
attachment of mind. Here, then, we have an effect precisely 
the reverse of blunting. The older and more fixed the habit, 
the harder is it to bear the sundering of the bond. Habit is 
thus a fertile source of negative pains, or the pains of craving, 
a source which grows more prolific as life advances." (103). 
Thus we see as Sully says in summary, "the principle of habit, 



FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION 177 

which, though it tends, as we have seen to dull feeling, tends 
also indirectly to fix and further it by strengthening the dis- 
position to the appropriate motor reaction. A child who is 
allowed to fall again and again into the mental and bodily 
attitude of anger contracts a stronger organic disposition to 
react in this way, a fact clearly seen in the greater rapidity of 
the outburst, and in the diminished strength of the stimulus 
requisite for calling it forth." (104) . 

Permanence in connection with the feelings. The habitual 
in the world of feeling is indicated also in the following quo- 
tation from Professor Titchener : "The name of passion is also 
given to any abiding interest, to any mode of strong emotive 
response that is specific and lasting. We say that a man has 
a passion for success, for science, for gambling; and we mean 
that a situation which shows any sort of reference to these 
things will appeal to him, dominatingly and one-sidedly, 
through that reference." (119). Whatever we shall call 
these permanent or relatively permanent acquisitions in the 
world of feeling, we mean just these things that are called 
permanent interests, or cravings, or passions or sentiments; 
or such things as Titchener mentions when he says: "Other 
current usage identifies sentiment with what we have called 
passion (in the second sense), i. e., with such things as love of 
power, of fame, or economy, of cleanliness; hatred of injus- 
tice, of oppression, of affectation; devotion to science, or art 
or religion. It seems, however, more natural to speak of a 
passion for cleanliness, a passion for order, a passion for jus- 
tice, a passion for old furniture, than to name these affective 
dispositions 'sentiments.' " 

Feelings and action. The important thing in connection 
with all this is that the student in the course of his education 
does acquire those tendencies to desire, crave, need, whatever 
you would call it, the things that are desirable, and to act so as 
to obtain them. Feelings and action of the appropriate kind 
should go together. And they should continue to act together 
as permanent tendencies. The feeling should not habitually 
fritter off and nothing come of it. To have the feeling alone 
would only be a luxury, and perhaps, as Thorndike says, a 
vice. 

From the practical point of view, we will lose nothing if we 
talk in the everyday forms of speech and imply that the feel- 
ings actually bring about actions. We can remember that 
they probably do not bring about the action, but that their 



178 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

presence indicates certain dispositions and that the casual 
links lie wholly in the nervous system. 

The feelings dependent upon action. The actions are not 
so much the result of feelings, as the feelings are the result of 
actions. We accordingly find, granting the great influence of 
heredity, of course, that our actions settle for us our disposi- 
tions for this or that kind of activity. We act kindly, merci- 
fully, justly, charitably, and we find the ideals of these things 
and the dispositions for them growing strong within us. We 
also find that these things satisfy us and the lack of them dis- 
satisfies us. Not only has our living in a certain way devel- 
oped our likes for this way of living, but it has also developed 
our dislikes for other ways, or ways that conflict with this. We 
have indicated here one of the fundamental things of which 
the educator must take advantage in developing the feeling 
habits of pupils. Get him to act so that he will have the right 
feelings. Do not merely arouse the feeling. What one feels 
may be enjoyed merely as so much pleasure. One may have 
a thrill and wait expectantly for the next thrill, and the enjoy- 
ing of the thrill be the sum and substance of the matter. On 
the other hand what we do we come to like; what we do we 
tend to think of as our activity with the emphasis on 'our' and 
for that reason we are likely to defend it. Furthermore, the 
acting makes it a part of our nervous system. 

Associations. The second great means of developing dis- 
positions for things and activities lies in the associations that 
are or may be formed. Perhaps more than anything else, the 
reason that we like our native land, our own state, our own 
group, lies in the associations we have with them. You love 
one state and think of the sleigh rides, the skating, the canoe- 
ing, the friends, the weekend parties. I love another state and 
think of the same associations I have with that state. One 
man likes literature and you find that he has had pleasant as- 
sociations with the literature that he has studied. Another 
dislikes literature and you may find that he had unpleasant 
associations with it. Yes, you say, but it may be an hereditary 
difference. One is born to like one kind of thing and another 
to like something quite different. Yes, that is so. But it is 
only part of the truth. One man tells that he disliked a cer- 
tain subject until he had a certain teacher and forever after 
he enjoyed that subject. That is a matter of education and 
not of heredity. And it is a matter of associations. Even the 
disagreeable things of life conform to these laws. The busi- 



FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION 179 

ness man may dislike his work but finally it becomes a neces- 
sity to his life. So the business man spends two weeks on a 
vacation and is glad to return again to his regular work. Many 
a man has retired from business and discovered that he was 
unhappy and discontented without the associations and activi- 
ties to which he had through long years become accustomed. 

The development of interests. It is likely that we consider 
our interests to be more intellectual than our passions. If a 
man has an interest in a subject, he is correctly supposed to 
desire to attend to and think about it, to indulge himself in it 
consciously, not merely to satisfy a craving. "The secret of 
education," wrote Adam Smith, "is to direct vanity to proper 
objects." (89). Radestock tells us: "The celebrated peda- 
gogue, T. Ziller, studied the importance of interest very min- 
utely, and declares that instruction must particularly awaken 
and develop a wide and many sided interest in the objects 
taught and the mental labor, while the separate particles re- 
ceived may occasionally, without harm, fall a prey to forget- 
fulness. It is this wide and various interest that distinguishes 
the truly educated and mentally active person; and the in- 
creased interest in separate subjects causes him to be saved 
from distraction, notwithstanding a generous education, and 
enables him to use his concentrated efforts in separate fields." 
(84). 

I have often asked teachers which they would prefer their 
students to get from a course if they could get only one of two 
things, information on the one hand, or on the other, interest 
and a desire for more of the subject. The answer has always 
been interest and a desire for more. Fortunately one cannot 
teach a pupil anything so as to arouse an interest in it without 
also having information, be it ever so little, as part of the re- 
sult. Part of the work of a teacher in any teaching is to in- 
spire the pupil, to interest him, to arouse him, so that he will 
want more, so that he will have an abiding interest in the 
subject. 

Making interests permanent. We have already (chapter 
12) mentioned factors that may help to arouse interest and 
found a goodly number: appeal to instincts, pleasant intro- 
duction, pleasant activity in connection with the subject, com- 
petition, suggestion, arousal of feelings of value, or purpose, 
use of the definite and concrete, and the like. These may help 
temporarily. That is good. The greater work is that of 
which we have just spoken, that of making the interests per- 



180 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

manent; and this is to be done above all else by means of repe- 
titions and associations. The introduction of the pupils to a 
subject or activity may be pleasant, interesting, and perhaps 
easy at the outset, but this is not enough if the pupil is to be 
developed to his highest power. He must go to effort which 
is not so pleasant. And the repetitions, the self activity, the 
many associations with hard work are the things which may 
be hoped to bring him through so that he will be a man of 
concentration and of sustained effort to long and arduous 
tasks. 

The individual should also see so far as possible some re- 
turns for his labors or be made to realize that there will be 
returns of sufficient value. There is a much better attitude in 
work where the pupil realizes the value of the work to him- 
self. 

Other emotional tendencies. This right tilt, so to speak, 
given to the individual, and kept up, so that the desire, crav- 
ing, whatever it becomes, be a permanent thing, is necessary 
for the many affective responses of life. That we have appre- 
ciation, sympathy, harmless enjoyment, the gentler emotions, 
all of those tendencies of which we can think, towards clean- 
liness, neatness, politeness, unselfishness, as well as those of a 
more courageous sort, self-control, diligence, endurance, and 
all of those finer feelings for the beautiful, for humor, awe, 
reverence, and the like, necessitates that the individual have 
an insight into them, have the feeling for them and continue 
to live in such a way that they become a part of his life and a 
necessary part of his life. That is, he should so live, feel, 
think, and do, that these responses are necessary to give him 
satisfaction; and the absence of them, or the opposite kind of 
things, give him dissatisfaction. 

Imitation. Here, perhaps, more than anywhere else in the 
realm of education we have need for the best to imitate. In- 
stinctive as it is for the child to imitate, it is one of the com- 
monest things for him to imitate the likes and dislikes of those 
around him, or more accurately, to imitate their actions and 
thus to acquire certain likes and dislikes. The best actions, 
and objects, the acceptable models, should be the material for 
his imitation, and his feelings will grow through his imitation 
whether he is conscious or not. To have a finer appreciation 
of the best things in music, art, literature, the child must live 
in the presence of them. What he comes to like will be very 
largely that to which he has become accustomed. 



FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION 181 

Moral education. The consideration of these permanent 
tendencies in the life of feeling leads us naturally to the prob- 
lem of moral education. Out of all the thinking, feeling, and 
doing of the child should grow the ideals of right living, which 
themselves should be permanent possessions and should then 
find expression in the will of the moral individual. 

Will in moral training. "... Will, taken in a psychol- 
ogical and not in a moral sense, is simply the general name for 
the sum total of tendencies, inherited and acquired, that de- 
termine our actions; and we distinguish different types of 
will, according as these tendencies are so deep-seated and 
persistent that he attains his end, or at any rate continues to 
strive towards it, however remote it may be and however 
numerous the counter-suggestions that oppose it; and the man 
of weak will is one whose tendencies are so instable that he is 
at the mercy of every fresh suggestion that comes. James re- 
marks that, when the will is healthy, action follows, neither 
too slowly nor too rapidly, as the resultant of all the forces 
engaged; whereas, when it is unhealthy, action is either ex- 
plosive or obstructed: the mercurial or daredevil, tempera- 
ment shows an explosive will, 'discharging so promptly into 
movements that inhibitions get no time to arise'; and the limp 
characters, the failures, sentimentalists, drunkards, schemers, 
show the obstructed will, in which 'impulsion is insufficient or 
inhibition is in excess.' " 

The important thing in this connection is that our decisions 
and actions in accordance with the proper ideals become hab- 
itual. The moral man is the one who habitually makes his 
decision in terms of his ideals of right, or who acts in accord- 
ance with those ideals without even having to think and make 
a decision. 

Moral habits largely those of the second type. Moral habits 
are largely those of the second type, that is, those whose action 
is in terms of some general form of action, or in accordance 
with some ideal. Obviously in moral action there must often 
be considerable reflection in order to decide just what is right, 
just hpw one should act to be most just, etc. All of our gen- 
eral tendencies to be punctual, kind, merciful, helpful, involve 
or may involve some conscious direction. What the teacher 
desires is that the tendency to act in the appropriate way is 
present and ready to act promptly, surely, and effectively, no 
matter what the obstacles, and that the permanent tendency 
is so strong that all it needs is to be released and directed. 



182 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

This recalls what we have already said about habitude, or 
habitual attitude. (105). 

Moral education in our schools. It has not been our pur- 
pose to go into the many and difficult problems of moral edu- 
cation, but rather to show how certain essential factors enter 
into the making of permanent affective and moral tendencies. 
Reference to a recent article as to the problem in connection 
with our public schools may perhaps appropriately conclude 
what we have to say on the subject in this connection. This 
article is by Professor Drake of Vassar College, who tells that 
moral development depends partly, to be sure, on physical 
heredity. Poor constitution, mental defects, pathological con- 
ditions, and the like, are unfavorable for high moral develop- 
ment. Eugenics may do much in helping to stop the repro- 
duction of defectives in whom moral and, perhaps, all other 
kinds of development are limited. But the problem depends 
mostly upon social heredity or education. "Morality," he 
writes, "is something acquired by each generation, and not 
something transmitted by parents to offspring; we can greatly 
facilitate its acquisition. Morality is functional, not organic; 
it results from the way we use our powers and direct our in- 
stincts, not from their inherent nature. But we are not trying 
on any large and systematic scale to provide competent train- 
ing in the art of life for our youth. We employ experts to 
teach them Latin and mathematics; we see to it that they know 
how to build bridges properly if they are to be engineers, or 
fill teeth properly, if they are to be dentists. But we leave the 
most important training of all, the training that shall show 
them how to guide their desires and instincts, how to avoid 
the snares and pitfalls of life, how to be steadily and honor- 
ably happy, to the haphazard attention of parents, who are 
for the most part themselves ill-trained and ignorant of how 
to live. We need not despair of the efficacy of moral training, 
for we have hardly begun to try it. 

Our educational system is fairly good on its inform- 
ative side, and in the mental drill it provides. But in its moral 
training it is inexcusably deficient. What if our school super- 
intendents and college presidents were to recognize that the 
prime function of education were to discuss concrete prob- 
lems of conduct, and to quicken conscience, by the many 
methods known to skillful educators? It could then turn 
multitudes of boys and girls trained to a code, as knights were 
trained in former days to courage and chastity and the service 



FEELING HABITS AND MORAL EDUCATION 183 

of the weak. What if loyalty to school and college were to 
come to mean primarily loyalty to that code; so that for a 
Harvard man anywhere to be detected in lying would be 
shame to that college, or for a Yale man to use unfair methods 
in business would be to make his classmates blush and brand 
him as untrue to his alma mater? In this moral edu- 
cation, rather than in eugenics, lies our real hope for the rais- 
ing of the general standards of moral conduct." (22). 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Show how there are both instability and stability in the 
life of the feelings. 

2. What has the teacher to do with the development of 
permanent cravings, needs, passions, appreciations, feeling or 
emotional dispositions? 

3. How would you go about developing a passion for 
literature, or art, or science in yourself, and in a student? 

4. What do you mean by the higher sentiments and what 
has the teacher to do in connection with them? 

5. Compare the value of permanent acquisitions in the 
realm of the feelings and in the realm of the intellect. 

6. What parts do thinking, feeling and doing have in the 
moral education of the individual? 

7. What are the relative values of precept, examples, and 
practice in moral education? 

8. Distinguish the idea of the will as some kind of a special 
power of the mind with the view given in this book. 

9. What can you say about the need of and means of moral 
education in our schools? 

REFERENCES. 

1. Dewey, J. Moral Principles in Education. Boston, Houghton, 
Mifflin Co, 1909. 

2. Payot, J. The Education of the Will: The Theory and Practice 
of Self Culture. Tr. by S. E. Jelliffe. Funk and Wagnal'ls, 1909. 

3. Sneath, E. H. and Hodges, G. Moral Training in the School 
and Home. The Macmillan Co., 1913. Also other books in The Golden 
Rule Series, by the same authors and E. L. Stevens. 



Chapter 15. 
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. 

Dependence of mind on body. We have come to realize 
that without ideals, purpose, determination, one is not likely 
to accomplish what he could with them. Or, again, without 
improvement in methods of doing things we cannot do them 
most economically. But, also bodily conditions and the in- 
fluence of environment are so vital that we must see that they 
are the best possible. 

We do not have far to go to find evidences of the dependence 
of mind on body. A blow on the head may make one uncon- 
scious; failing health often makes it impossible for one to do 
good mental work; one may notice his memory failing in sick- 
ness and returning to normal activity with the return to 
health; drugs often interfere with mental processes or may 
render one unconscious; adenoids and defects of the various 
senses all have their various effects on intellectual work. 

The argument that great people have sometimes had marked 
physical defects, or that people have done great things even 
though they had serious bodily deficiencies does not in any 
wise prove that the defects made no difference and were un- 
important. The defects very likely impeded the endeavors 
of these and other people who may have had them. On the 
other hand the defects may have had the effect of provoking 
them to greater effort. 

The fact is that there appears to be a positive correlation 
between physical defects and failure of normal progress in 
our schools. It is reported that children in New York City 
schools who have had physical defects make 8.8 per cent, less 
progress than the normal children. 

Special defects. Dr. W. S. Cornell, (18), in his Health and 
Medical Inspection of School Children, writes that except for 
poor nutrition, defective hearing in moderate degree is the 
most powerful retarding influence encountered by school 
children. The results of defective hearing induce defective 
scholarship in general (See Figs. 14 and 15) and defective 
speech in particular. Dullness, smaller head, and inferior 

184 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 



185 



strength of grip are said to be correlated with defective 
hearing. 

A simple operation may remove wax or some foreign body 
from the ear and permit a child to hear who had not been able 
to hear before. The writer learned of a case recently where a 
girl by such a simple operation was able to hear distinctly for 
the first time, in at least a good many years. She informed 
her mother, "I can hear what the teacher says now; I can hear 
the clock tick." The disposition of the child changed notice- 
ably also. She had been disagreeable and difficult to manage; 
after the operation this changed and she was very distinctly 
more agreeable and tractable and was much more willing to 
do what her parents asked; — perhaps, she knew for the first 
time with some degree of clearness just what they wanted. 
For a comparison of results of an experiment comparing 
hearing and deaf children, see Figs. 14 and 15. 

Eye difficulties have interfered with study to an extremely 
large degree. It has been estimated that perhaps 60 per cent, 
of children who are studying need glasses. It is to be remem- 
bered that where one may not need glasses if he is not doing 
close work with the eyes, close work is just the thing that 
makes it necessary to give the eyes all possible aid. A study 
by F. J. Mann shows that hyperopia is five times more preva- 
lent than myopia. One hundred and ninety-one cases were 
very carefully studied. Hyperopia is considered by Prof. 



■Score 



30 



ZD 



fO . 




to II tz /3 M /S- /6 tj /8 4<£ult 6 
ft f. 14. 



Fig. 14. Results for deaf and hearing girls in the digit-symbol test. (Pintner 
and Paterson, 82a). 



186 



PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



Mann as a much more serious cause of eyestrain and retard- 
ation in schools than myopia. (59). 



zo 




/o . 



/Z /3 /4 'S /6 



/a jcLu.it*. 



Fig. 15. Results for deaf and hearing boys in digit-symbol test. (Pintner 
and Paterson, 82a). 



Nose and throat troubles and especially adenoids interfere 
with school work. Children who were thought to be subnor- 
mal and who had adenoids removed have been found to be 
of normal intelligence and fully able to keep up with normal 
children. 

Although it has probably not been conclusively shown that 
poor teeth cause poorer mental work, there is no doubt that 
poor teeth, if they are not remedied, bring about serious phy- 
sical conditions in adult life. Besides the statement that bad 
teeth lower scholarship, there is no doubt about the effects of 
bad teeth on lowered health, impaired digestion, and the great- 
er danger of contagious diseases. There is found to be con- 
siderable correlation between bad teeth and rheumatism, and 
there is also evidence that not a few nervous diseases or at 
least disorders, may be traced to defective teeth and cured by 
the necessary treatment of the teeth. 

Food. Lack of sufficient food, poorly prepared food, con- 
stipation, and resulting auto-intoxication, poor digestion, and 
lack of assimilation of food, lower the level of both physical 
and mental work. Forty-three per cent, of the New York City 
school children were at one time said to be underfed. The 
penny lunches appear to have been followed by better school 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 



187 



work. In Minneapolis recently there was found a family in 
which the children had always done uniformly excellent 
school work. Suddenly the work of all deteriorated and on 
investigation it was found that because of business reverses 
nnd financial loss the family were unable to obtain sufficient 
food. Upon supplying sufficient, good, well cooked food again 
the children were found doing their customary excellent work. 
A balanced diet. People commonly pay too little attention 
to getting a balanced diet. Fisher and Fisk give a table by 
means of which one can roughly determine a properly bal- 
anced diet. See Table 1. (27). 





Poor in 
fat. 


Rich in 
fat. 


Very rich in 
fat. 


Very high 

in 

proteins 


White of eggs 
Cod fish 
Lean beef 
Chicken 
Veal 






High in 
protein 


Shell fish 
Skim milk 
Lentils 
Peas 
Beans 


Most fish 
Most meats 
Most fowl 
Whole egg 
Cheese 




Moderate or 
deficient 

in 
protein 


Most vegetables 

Bread 

Potatoes 

Fruits 

Sugar 


Peanuts 

Milk 

Cream soups 

Most pies 

Doughnuts 


Fat meats 
Yolk of eggs 
Most nuts 
Cream 
Butter 



Table 1. 

"The foods given in the uppermost compartment are those 

"very high' in protein The compartment farthest to 

the right contains a list of those foods 'very' high in fat. 
.... The foods in the lower left compartment are rich in 
carbohydrates. Those in neighboring compartments are 
moderate and the others are poorest in carbohydrates." 

"Thus practically the nearer the name of any food is to the 
upper left corner of this triangular table, the more protein 
that food contains; the nearer it is to the right hand corner, the 
more fat .... and the nearer to the remaining corner (lower 
left), the more carbohydrate (starch and sugar)." 

"An ideal proportion of the three food elements is to be had 
only in the middle compartment of the lowest row. But it is 
by no means necessary or advisable to confine one's diet to the 



188 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

few foods which happen to fall in that compartment, provided 
foods chosen from other compartments balance each other. 
Thus, fruit and nuts balance each other, the one being at the 
left and the other at the right of the ideal compartment. In 
the same way, potatoes and cream balance each other, as do 
bread and butter. Instinctively these combinations have been 
chosen, especially bread and butter. This combination is, 
however, slightly too low in protein, and a better balance is 
obtained by adding a little from the compartment vertically 
above the ideal. In this way we obtain the familiar meat-, 
egg-, or cheese-sandwich, constituting of itself a fairly well- 
balanced meal." 

"In short, in order to maintain a diet correct as to protein, 
it is only necessary to make our main choices from the lowest 
row and, in case the foods so chosen are near the bottom, to 
supplement these by a moderate use from the row above and 
a still more sparing use of those in the top compartment.'* 
(27). 

The importance of a correct diet cannot be overestimated 
and most of us could do better than we do in the matter. 
Other pages in the book just referred to are recommended to 
the reader. 

Air. It was safe to say only a few years ago that people 
needed a certain amount of fresh air to breathe. Recent re- 
searches have suggested that perhaps all we need is to put old, 
much breathed air into motion. We at least are assured of 
the fact that air in motion can be breathed with perfect com- 
fort and no physiological ill effects for a much longer period 
than can air which is not in motion. The unpleasant effects 
of air which has been breathed for some time can often be re- 
moved in this way. 

Many systems of ventilation have been worked out and 
many studies of ventilation have been made. A good system 
of ventilation is invaluable. It has not been proved, that it is 
not wise to judiciously use window ventilation to supplement 
even the best systems of ventilation that have yet appeared. 

Prof. Lee, (58), of Columbia University, in a recent report 
of the effects of atmospheric conditions in relation to physiol- 
ogical action, notes the current emphasis upon physical rather 
than upon chemical features. He writes: "The harmfulness 
of living in confined air is found in certain physical rather 
than chemical features — the air is too warm, too moist, and 
too still; and if it has not these physical features it is not harm- 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 189 

fill." It is perhaps too early to predict what the status of car- 
bon dioxide will be in the future. We are not at present ready 
to have any percent at all of carbon dioxide in the air that we 
breathe and will probably remain a little critical of the state- 
ment that "the harmfulness of air is not due to its chemical 
components." There is no doubt about the need of keeping 
the physical conditions much better than has been done. 

Temperature. Prof. Lee refers to the common experience 
of all when he writes in this same article, "We all have sat in 
crowded assemblies; we all have experienced the hot, humid, 
still days of an American summer; we all know the effects of 
such air on our sensations — the general bodily discomfort, the 
sleepiness, the flushed face, the headache, the disinclination 
to think or to act, the general debility, the longing for relief." 
Summing up the facts presented by Mr. Huntington, in his 
book, "Civilization and Climate," Prof. Lee continues: "All 
these data combine to demonstrate that the greatest physical 
efficiency of the individual is found not during the summer or 
the winter, but at intermediate seasons." That the same is 
true also of mental activity is shown by a study of the marks 
secured by the students at West Point and Annapolis in cer- 
tain classes, especially mathematics. Of the various climatic 
features that might be responsible for these seasonal differ- 
ences in achievement, temperature appears to be the most 
important. Both physical and mental activity seem to be 
greatest and most effective, not when extreme summer's heat 
or extreme winter's cold prevails, but when the body is sub- 
jected to an intermediate temperature. After a careful con- 
sideration of his many figures Huntington came to the con- 
clusion that the optimum temperature of the outside air for 
the physical work of human beings is about 60 degrees F. 
(15.5 degrees C.) and for mental work about 40 degrees F. 
(4.4 degrees C.) the greatest efficiency of the human body cul- 
minating at the intermediate point of 50 degrees F. (10 degrees 
C). 

The studies we have all go to show that the customary tem- 
perature, 70 degrees F. in which we are likely to keep our liv- 
ing rooms is too high. A temperature of 65 degrees to 68 de- 
grees F. (about 18 degrees to 20 degrees C.) is probably best. 
It is likely also that the air is too quiet. And a third very im- 
portant factor is the humidity. 

Humidity. Professor Whipple has called our attention to 
the fact thai the air in our dwellings sometimes exceeds in 



190 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

dryness that of the Desert of Sahara. The importance of 
humidity is so great that it would not be at all surprising if 
we should some day measure the humidity of our indoor air 
as carefully as we now measure the temperature. The hy- 
grometer may some day be as common as the thermometer. 
The New York commission has recommended 50 per cent, 
relative humidity as most desirable. We are certainly not 
likely to do our best work, either physical or mental, if the air 
is either too dry or too moist. 

Atmospheric conditions and mental work. Experiments as 
yet do not seem to clearly indicate the effects of atmospheric 
conditions on mental work. Further experiments on a fairly 
large scale are under way. Common experience and the ob- 
servations already quoted above, however, indicate deleterious 
effects of extreme conditions. The fact is that extreme con- 
ditions are distractions, or at least tend to detract attention. 
More effort is therefore required on the part of the student 
and this constitutes a serious difficulty in the school room and 
in the case of any student who lacks the necessary motives, 
interest, or pressure to overcome the disturbing influences. 

Uniformity of atmospheric conditions, that is, with little or 
no changes, is found to be dulling to both mind and body. 
Change is stimulating and if not too extreme or too often, is 
valuable. Clothing is important. Impeding the circulation 
of the blood by too tight clothing interferes also with the men- 
tal processes. To attempt to disregard these things, to over- 
come them by force of will, may be heroic, but is uneconomic 
and requires the paying of too big a price for diminishing re- 
turns. At the very outset the physical conditions should be 
made as nearly right as possible. 

Regularity and Efficiency. Regularity of eating, sleeping, 
plenty of good nourishing food and of sleep, keeping the body 
in the best condition always, will do more for the intellectual 
welfare of the student than he realizes. Suppose that the 
student keep himself in this fine physical condition, and then 
push himself to his best efforts; that responsibilities and de- 
mands be made upon him; that he studies regularly and for 
long hours; he will be astonished to find what it is possible 
for him to accomplish. And, further, he will find that while 
he turns out more and better work, he can do it with perfect 
comfort. To use artificial stimulants to work leaves one in 
an abnormal condition; to use the right incentives, to concen- 
trate effort, to develop interests and discover motives, to per- 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 191 

feet methods of study, to keep the body healthy for this pur- 
pose, reveals deeper levels of energy and develops a degree of 
efficiency of which the student may never have dreamed. 

Change of work. To change from one kind of study or 
work to another kind often brings better results. One is not 
rested by doing this, but he feels rested. It removes weari- 
ness, the feelings of effort and boredom, and lets up on the 
strains that have started. Different parts of the brain may 
be called predominantly into action. And only predominant- 
ly, let it be said, for the brain works so much as a unit, that it 
is not true to say that you use one part for one thing and an- 
other part for something else. Many parts of the brain are 
active whenever any of it is active. Different muscles may be 
exercised. If the eyes are used very much for one subject, a 
change to something requiring less eye work is advantageous. 

Furthermore, the student should learn to do his hardest 
work, his best study, at the times when he is most rested, when 
he has the best supply of energy. It is certainly a mistake to 
think that one can do very good mental work when physically 
tired. It is much more economical to rest a while and then 
begin study. It is doubtful whether study should be done 
immediately after a meal; the blood should not be called im- 
mediately from the stomach to the brain by hard intellectual 
work. Such time might well be used for rest, recreation, or 
perhaps, for light, pleasant reading or conversation. 

Fatigue. Fatigue is defined as the reduction in capacity 
for and pleasure in work. Mental fatigue is fatigue for men- 
tal work; bodily fatigue is fatigue for bodily work. Fatigue 
we have already distinguished from weariness or the feeling 
of fatigue. This feeling, we said, was no safe indication of the 
actual fatigue, that is for the actual lack of capacity for further 
work. Actual fatigue can be removed only by rest. Recre- 
ation, change of work or of subject matter, may remove the 
weariness but do not change the fatigue. 

It should also be remembered that one cannot fatigue him- 
self for one kind of work, either mental or physical, and ex- 
pect to be without the same fatigue for the other. He will be 
without the feeling of fatigue, perhaps, if the change of work 
brings renewed interest, relieves particular strains and un- 
pleasantnesses, and brings pleasure through the change itself. 
Actual fatigue is not removed in this way. 

The value of shorter periods of study and of work has ap- 
peared from various quarters. We have already referred to 



192 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

the value of comparatively short study periods. The fact that 
workmen can turn out more and better work in reasonably 
shorter than longer periods has found its expression in the 
shortened hours, for example, in the eight instead of the ten 
hour day. Just as much and perhaps more can be done in the 
shorter time and with no more or at least relatively no more, 
and perhaps even less fatigue considering the time expended. 

Fatigue and school hours. The best progress in school re- 
quires careful elimination of fatigue whenever it appears, and 
careful administration of school affairs so that the minimum 
of fatigue results from the day's work. Taking the judgment 
of Offner, (72), which he made after an extensive study of the 
problem, we find the following statements. Sixty minutes is 
entirely too long for a class period and has no psychological 
reason for its justification. This applies to high school stu- 
dents. For older students a longer time is permissable, and 
eighty minutes is thought to be the longest which should be 
used for older students and then only for reviews. Forty-five 
minutes are recommended for the normal high school student. 
For lower grades thirty minutes are long enough. In connec- 
tion with this matter we may well consider the apparent suc- 
cess of many principals of high schools who have used thirty 
minute periods for their students and alternate the recitation 
with the study period. This, you remember, agrees with the 
results of experiment on the value of comparatively short 
study periods, i. e., twenty to thirty minutes. 

Offner says that five periods a day are enough and that some 
authorities have decided that a return to four periods is 
wisest. The maximum for the week according to this writer 
should be twenty-four. As to pauses in the work; the pauses 
should be shorter early in the day and longer later in the day. 
It is very questionable as to the value of very strenuous exer- 
cise for those who are studying. A moderate degree of exer- 
cise is beneficial; much more than that may bring one too near 
to the point of fatigue and interfere more with mental work 
than it helps. 

The rather extreme suggestion of two hours rest over the 
noon hour before one begins the afternoon's study will hardly 
meet with general approval. Yet this suggestion is found in 
the above mentioned author. The American would consider 
two hours rest in the middle of the day too much waste. The 
suggestion that informational instruction and class recitations 
be given up in the afternoon in order to keep students from 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 



193 



studying during the noon hour is perhaps sufficiently well ap- 
proximated in the plan which throws laboratory and shop 
work in the afternoon. Surely a rest after the noon meal, or 
at least, restraint, if happily it be restraint, is beneficial. 

Sleep. Professor Whipple, (120), recommends the follow- 
ing hours of sleep for people of the ages given. The hours 
are averages from figures given by the six best authorities. 
See Table 2. For an admirable study of the sleep of school 
children one should read the study of Terman and Hocking. 
(108). 

Age: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 

Hours: 12.2 11.5 11.2 11 10.5 10.2 9.8 9.6 9.25 9.0 8.75 8.5 

Table 2. 

More sleep is necessary for more strenuous work or play, 
for younger people, and in winter than in summer. If sleep) 
does not fully restore the organism to complete capacity, that 
sleep was insufficient or the work of the day before too 
strenuous. 

Short naps. Experiments and experience seem to show that 
short naps may be very useful in economizing time and en- 
ergy. The rest and recuperation is greatest soon after going 
to sleep if one may reason from the soundness of sleep, and is 
less and less so in succeeding hours. See Fig. 16. It has been 





&*e>r<?i4 of 

\Stt77? u £ as 




i i 1 * 


7oo 




500 


- / \ 


3oo 
/oo 





/ z 

TOUT'S. 



3 < S 



Fig. 16. "Curve illustrating strength of an auditory stimulus (a ball falling 
at half hour intervals). The curve indicates that the distance through which 
the ball required to be dropped increased during the first hour, and then dimin- 
ished, at first very rapidly, then slowly. (Kolscheutter)." (i). 



194 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

said that a person can get the greatest amount of good from his 
hours of sleep if he cuts short the long night rest and takes a 
short nap in the middle of the day. He thus takes advantage 
of the greater rest to be gained from the earlier portions of 
two sleep periods. 

"It appears that loss of sleep can be made up by fewer extra 
hours than the number lost though the explanation of this is 
not fully apparent." (2). 

On this subject see also: Patrick and Gilbert (75). Also, 
C. E. Seashore, (88). 

Social activities do more than hard work to bring on fatigue 
and in the cases of many of our students nervous breakdowns. 
Social intercourse is moderation is not only beneficial but 
necessary for the growth and development of normal life. But 
late hours and insufficient sleep with midnight suppers thrown 
in inevitably show in the lack of efficiency the next day, the 
extra energy required for the same work, the greater number 
of errors, and if kept up long enough in nervous breakdown. 
This may be fashionable, but the student will have to become 
more than ordinarily expert in statistics to prove that it is 
economical. 

Study in evening school after a hard day's work cannot be 
expected to give the returns that study without any degree of 
fatigue would give. Economy for the students in evening 
classes would be found in using part of their available time in 
resting and then studying. The study time even though short- 
er would give better results. One must be careful not to sleep 
too long before the evening study, if he sleeps at all, for he 
must avoid the getting too drowsy to do any effective study 
later. 

Raising the question whether or not it is permissible that 
pupils be fatigued, OfTner answers, Yes. Fatigue is not dan- 
gerous if there is full recuperation every morning after the 
night's rest. A man needs training to meet the emergencies 
that demand work to the point of fatigue. Better develop- 
ment comes through reasonably hard work. ' "An easy school 
is a social crime." ' 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 
1. What facts have we that show the need for good physiol- 
ogical and physical conditions if we are to have good school 
work? 



PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 195 

2. What are the most important special physical defects of 
school children? What should be done about them? 

3. What is the relation of food to health and good mental 
work? 

4. How would you work out a suitable diet from the table 
given in the text? What is meant by a balanced diet? 

5. What three things are essential in connection with air? 
How far can and should they be controlled? 

6. Discuss the problem of fatigue and its relation to school 
work. 

7. What would you advise a student in regard to the right 
amount of sleep? 

8. Distinguish between fatigue and the feeling of fatigue. 
What is the effect of recreation on, 1) fatigue, 2) the feeling 
of fatigue? 

9. Discuss the problem of social activities in relation to 
school work. 

10. What is the value of hard work and how is an easy 
school a social crime? 

REFERENCES. 

Cornell, W. S. Health and Medical Inspection of School Children. 
F. A. Davis. 1912. 

Fisher, I. and Fisk, E. L. How to Live. Rules for healthful living 
based on modern science. Authorized and prepared in collaboration 
with hygiene reference board of the Life Extension Institute, Inc. 
Funk and Wagnalls Co. 3rd Ed. 1916. 

Offner, M. Mental Fatigue, Tr. by G. M. Whipple. Warwick and 
York. 1911. 



Chapter 16. 
THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY. 

Results of supervised study. No doubt seems to exist as to 
the need for supervised study. The amount of agreement that 
we should have it, is at least, out of proportion to the amount 
of directed study that has occurred, unless it be in the last few 
years. It appears that we might with profit hear less for a 
time about the very important matter of preparing the teacher 
to teach, and hear more about preparing the student to study, 
and the teacher to help him to study. 

The justification of supervised study lies partly in the recog- 
nied need for it and partly in the fact that it has proved its 
worth where it has been tried and used. Study that is not 
supervised or properly directed is wasteful. Bad habits of 
study are thus formed. Supervised study has given results so 
far superior to the old wasteful ways of pupils, — they can 
hardly be called methods in many cases, — that no teacher who 
knows the facts can deny the economy of such supervision. 
The same lessons can be mastered in less time and bad habits 
of study avoided. Breslich is authority for the statement that 
supervised study may give results even two and one-half times 
superior to unsupervised study if we think of results in terms 
of time. 

Moral value of home study habits. Nothwithstanding the 
recognized superiority of supervised study at school, there re- 
mains a very serious moral problem. It appears that in one 
place where home study was abolished, parents discovered 
that their children spent their evenings away from home in- 
stead of at home as they had done formerly. The problem is 
serious. The endeavor of educators today is to direct the ac- 
tivities of children for a larger number of hours out of every 
twenty-four. The street, the movie, all that influences child- 
ren when they are not at home or in school is part of the edu- 
cational problem. At these times they are forming habits, 
many of which may be exceedingly bad. The point is that a 
little home work may be of great value in getting pupils to 
form better habits of spending the evening hours. 

196 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 197 

The pupil's failure in the application of advice for methods 
of study. Parker cites the case of a teacher who gave instruc- 
tions to pupils as to methods of studying and found out later 
that one of these pupils knew nothing about studying the sub- 
ject the teacher taught. The girl told her parents that she 
knew of no suggestions that the teacher had given about how 
to study the lesson. The parents inquired of the teacher and 
learned that such suggestions had been given. It is a question 
how frequent such cases are. From our general knowledge 
we may suppose that this case is by no means exceptional. 

The only safe thing for the teacher is not only to give the 
instructions but to know that they are carried out. Supervised 
study in the school will give opportunity for the teacher to 
know this. It is also advisable that a part of the recitation be 
on the methods used in getting the lessons. Not only should 
children know the lesson, they should know how they learned 
it and be able to tell how they did it. The habits of study are 
some of the most important end results of education. Tests 
should include these habits formed as well as the habits that 
are commonly tested. 

The teacher's inability to advise. As Judd has pointed out, 
teachers do not know what to tell students about how to study. 
He gives the example of a principal who arranged with his 
teachers for a separate period during which the teachers 
should direct students in the methods of getting their lessons 
efficiently and economically. "The program .... was ar- 
ranged and the classes met the teachers. Then it was discov- 
ered that the teachers did not know what to say to the stud- 
ents. Teachers know about Latin and mathematics. They 
can ask questions in these subjects; but they do not know 
about students' minds in a way which makes it possible to tell 
students how to study." 

Teachers fail to know the difficulties of students. They 
should know these difficulties and the particular difficulties of 
students in the subjects taught. Knowing these they should 
learn to apply the particular knowledge of method needed. 

For the last four years the present writer has given sugges- 
tions for study to his students, especially to those students who 
were preparing to teach. The following suggestions were 
written out about three years ago and have been found very 
useful in his talks to teachers. They are here given in almost 
the same form as that in which they have been used for the 
last three years. They suggest many of the things that can be 



198 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

said to students in the attempt to improve their methods of 
study. Choice can be made from the list of suggestions which 
follow. Many of them will be of great value to students, es- 
pecially if the teacher amplify upon the statements where 
necessary. The detailed facts found in the earlier chapters of 
this book will offer the necessary help for such amplification. 

Suggestions for students. What you study is very im- 
portant. How you study is more important. What you study 
you may forget in a short time. You will very likely forget a 
good deal of it. How you learn, the methods you use, become 
habits that are a very part of you. These habits stick through 
life. If you get good habits of study you can learn very much 
more quickly. And you will also be better able to learn things 
by yourself when there is no teacher to help you. 

You have often heard about learning to use the hands. 
It is more important to learn to use the mind. Learning to 
use the mind correctly helps you to use the hands better. This 
makes the mental habits that are necessary for success in 
school and after you leave school. Whatever you think, feel, 
or do, develops in you the tendency for you to think, feel, and 
do the same later. That is, it makes your habits of thinking, 
feeling, and doing. If you form good habits they help you to 
succeed; if you form poor habits, they hinder you. 

Remember that you must not simply listen to these sug- 
gestions and decide to use them sometime. You should use 
them now and all the time. You will have to use them until 
they become habits. You should realize that your old meth- 
ods are probably not economical. If a new method seems 
harder to you it is probably simply because it is new to you. 
When you get used to it it will save you time and be easier. 

Do not be prejudiced against these new methods. They 
have been worked out by people who have studied the best 
ways of doing things. These people are giving you these re- 
sults after much study and many experiments. You are the 
one to be benefited if you will only use them. They studied 
these problems of study because the old ways wasted too much 
time. 

Habit. Making a thing a habit permits you to do what you 
have learned in this way and to attend to the next new prob- 
lem. Progress and mastery demand many useful habits, and, 
especially, as many as possible in one's chosen profession or 
vocation. 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 199 

Always learn correctly the first time; never learn incor- 
rectly; things once learned can never be entirely unlearned. 

Your habits will determine, for the most part, what you will 
be and do in the future; develop, therefore, the habits of 
thinking, feeling, and doing that will be helpful later. 

Fully make your habits. Learn the things that will help 
you best to form difficult habits and make use of them. 

Learn the things that interfere with the formation of habits 
in your case and do your best to avoid them, for example, 
laziness, not caring enough, too many engagements, not having 
time, and the like. 

Remember that what you are getting out of your education 
are habits of some kind and that you want good habits rather 
than bad ones; habits that will save you time and effort, rather 
than habits that will waste your time and effort. 

Fully formed habits are what give stability to character. 
One is expert only when one has many of these fully formed 
habits. Such habits are the only things that can be depended 
upon in the emergencies of life. That is what makes the 
trained soldier more valuable than the raw recruit. That is 
the reason that the football squad has to practice so long and 
so hard. 

Habit formation involving study. Get a good start 
and start promptly. Don't waste time beginning. Half a 
minute is probably long enough to take to get started. 

In the problems of life three things above everything else 
will be valuable to you : the ability to gather facts, the ability 
to get clear ideas, and the ability to make right judgments. 

The more you know of a given subject, the more you can 
get from a lecture or from reading on that subject. 

To be clear and to be accurate are the most important 
things in all study and in solving any of the problems of life. 

Remember that thoroughness pays in the long run. Being 
thorough means fulfilling the requirements of the situation in 
which you are placed. One can be wisely thorough without 
being exhaustively thorough. Know what to do and where 
to stop. 

Be true to the facts with which you are dealing. That is, 
don't think that the book says what you expect it to say. Find 
out exactly just what it does say. 

Know exactly the aim of every study you go into. Adapt 
your method to that aim. Do exactly what you set out to do 



200 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

or know why you do something else and that it is right to 
change. 

Imitate, and imitate only the best; add some thinking even 
then. 

Mastery of material requires organization; if material is 
not well organized, organize it for yourself both for memory 
and for understanding. 

Give good attention to the things you want to understand 
and remember. 

Find the general subject or problem first; then find the first 
main thought, then the sub-topics under this main thought 
with the illustrations for each point; then the next main 
thought, the sub-topics and illustrations; repeat this until you 
have mastered your material. 

Find a concrete example for everything you want to under- 
stand and remember. 

Outline what you want to remember; then memorize the 
outline. 

Follow through good reasoning of others; read books in 
which you find good reasoning. 

Reason with others, and try to make your points so clear 
and forcible that the other man cannot fail to see them. 

Reason out theories, and then test them to see where they 
are good and where bad. 

Practise in picking out essential factors in situations. Learn 
how to pick out the most important ideas. 

Learn to detect errors in reasoning and to avoid them. 

Modes of thought. Discover the habits of thought that you 
have and that tend to lead you astray. 

The trial and error method may sometimes save time; but 
thinking will save you more time and a great deal of waste 
effort. 

Get all the facts you need before making a judgment. 

Do not be prejudiced by what you want to think or to be- 
lieve. Be prejudiced only to know clearly and accurately. 

Know whether things happen by coincidence or by cause 
and effect. 

Be definite in the use of words, and know exactly what oth- 
ers mean, either when they speak or write. 

Remember that reasoning by analogy, that is by similarities, 
never proves anything and is one of the commonest ways in 
which people are led astray in their thinking. 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 201 

A person has to understand in terms of his own knowledge. 
But reading your thoughts and feelings into things may lead 
you far from the truth. 

Be sure that an argument proves what it is supposed to 
prove and not something else. 

Distinguish an appeal to the feelings from an appeal to the 
intellect. 

Remember that a conclusion may be right even though the 
arguments are bad and fail to prove the conclusion. 

Above everything else y be clear and be accurate. 

Progress and improv ability. Given the capacity, anyone, 
with proper methods, regular and persistent practice, can sur- 
pass the achievements of most people. 

The best improvement is found to occur where one practices 
very definitely the thing in which the improvement is desired. 
Do not practise one thing and expect much or perhaps any im- 
provement in other things. 

Master all habits as you go along. 

However, in thought material, go ahead often when you do 
not fully understand; you will get new light; reviewing the 
whole matter later will help you further in a full under- 
standing. 

Frequent reviews will give you the best results for the time 
you spend. Learn in the right order or in a very good order; 
use the best methods, and be regular in your application. 

Understand the causes of "plateaus" in your case, and apply 
the remedy needed. 

Don't get the idea of studying just because a lesson is as- 
signed. You are studying for your own advancement. Stat- 
istics show that it is possible for an educated person to rise 
higher and to do things impossible for an uneducated person. 

Learn to help yourself just as much as possible. 

Get your teachers to help you learn how to learn. 

Learn to study and to do everything as nearly as possible in 
the way you will do them after you leave school. 

Be a master of something. 

Transfer of training. Training in one thing may help in 
other things; it may also hinder in other things. If you learn 
to do a thing correctly the methods may help you to do other 
things. If you learn a thing incorrectly, it is likely to hinder 
your doing it correctly later. 

You improve most in the definite thing you study and prac- 
tise. But if you try to apply, or if you have the ideal of the 



202 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

thing you are attempting, it may "carry over" to the doing of 
other things. 

Try to see the value of things you are learning and make 
them help you in other things wherever possible. 

Your methods of doing things transfer very often to doing 
other things. It is most important, therefore, how you do 
things. 

Thorough intensive study may broaden one in a way he 
does not expect. 

Memory and the permanence of acquisition. There is no 
general memory; there are many memories. 

To remember better, have better conditions of study and 
have better methods of study. 

Use all the things that make for better attention, attitude 
and purpose. Have the intention to remember. 

Have many associations with the things you wish to re- 
member. 

Use your knowledge. 

Take advantage of frequency of repetition, duration of the 
experience, vividness, recency, primacy, age and regularity. 

Learn at your own best rate. Go over material more slowly 
at first, then at a faster rate. It is doubtful as to whether you 
should try to study very fast. It is valuable to be able to study 
and learn quickly, but speed often means inaccuracy. The 
more valuable thing is to be accurate. 

Study the material at different times. 

Study by wholes and not by parts. Learn what is the best 
amount of material to be studied as a whole. 

Organize your material wherever you can and get the logical 
connections. Warm up to your work, and have two or three 
minutes at the end of the study for a hardening period. Do 
not allow any distractions at this time. 

Avoid fatigue, and have the best physical conditions pos- 
sible. 

Do not depend upon mnemonics and mnemonic devices ex- 
cept where it is positively necessary. 

Learn very thoroughly if you want to remember for a long 
time. 

The mind is not to be stuffed. You should learn, assim- 
ilate and use. 

The feelings and interest. One may become so absorbed in 
his work that there is no feeling connected with it, but interest 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 203 

is generally present in the best intellectual work. Other feel- 
ings are also desirable. 

To help arouse the desirable feelings and attitude for study: 

Choose the environment, people, situations, etc., which sug- 
gest the desired attitudes. Listen to, or better, participate in, 
discussions of the subject you are studying. 

Recall facts, people, accomplishments of others and of your- 
self that arouse you to the desired attitude. 

Compare your achievement with that of others and of your 
own earlier work. 

Have a motive for your study. 

Be wisely indignant over your failures, and direct the en- 
ergy aroused to the study in hand. One may appeal to var- 
ious instincts, the fighting instinct, for example, to develop the 
right aggressive attitude towards study. Decide that you have 
enough fight in you to conquer the difficulties in your lessons. 

Act as if you had the desired feelings and they may come. 

To arouse and develop interest: 

Use suggestion of environment; choose places and people 
that make you want to do your work; that arouse your 
enthusiasm. 

Attach or associate something pleasant with your subject. 

Get as pleasant an introduction to it as possible; get as 
much pleasant knowledge about it as you can. 

Take an attitude towards the subject; do something about it. 

Find a use you can make of the knowledge or accomplish- 
ment; this may be to solve problems, to converse on this topic 
with educated people; to earn a living, to have a finer appre- 
ciation of something, or what not. 

Find definite, concrete examples of the thoughts with which 
you are dealing. 

Purpose and determination make for better results in every 
way. 

Attention and sustained effort. The better the attention, 
the better all intellectual work. 

A student should practise giving the best attention he can in 
all situations. He should develop the habit of concentration 
for any situation. 

Some emotions help, for example, curiosity, interest, desire 
to achieve, and the like. Others hinder, for example, excite- 
ment, fluster and worry. 

Changing from one phase of a topic to another helps. 



204 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Having many thoughts on a topic and following them out to 
their logical conclusions will aid. 

Competition with others and with one's own past record is 
likely to make for sustained attention. 

Have a purpose, determination; care enough. If you care 
enough about a thing you are likely to succeed. Of course, 
you must have enough capacity to start with. 

The suggestions of environment may help; the books, rooms, 
people, etc., which give the right influence. 

Avoid the wrong suggestions: the easy chairs, the comfort- 
able easy going people, luxurious and distracting surround- 
ings. 

To become relatively independent of distractions, try to 
study in any and all kinds of places, that is, where there is 
little and where there is much distraction. Persist, care 
enough about doing it, and hold to your purpose. This is the 
best way to form the habit of concentration. There is an 
easier way but it is not so good. That is to study at a certain 
time and in a certain place. This will form time and place 
habits. They will make it easy for you to study at the chosen 
time and in the chosen place. The reason that this is not so 
good is that it may make it difficult for you to study at other 
times and in other places. 

To know definitely what you are looking for will help you 
to find it. If you have a very clear idea of what you expect to 
see you may think you see it when it is not there. So you 
must be careful. You may also overlook other important 
things. 

Do not mistake the feeling of fatigue for actual fatigue; and 
do not fall into the habit of feeling tired and having to stop 
study in a very short time. That is just a bad habit. 

Know clearly and exactly what you are to do ; know clearly 
and exactly how to do it. 

Have an ideal and live up to it. Many of our great men 
have become great because they had an ideal and lived up to 
that ideal. 

Bodily conditions. The best bodily conditions are the 
necessary conditions for the best study. 

Remove physical difficulties wherever possible. 

Improve your mental work by improving your health. 

Plenty of good, well-prepared food, good digestion and as- 
similation, good light, fresh air, right temperature, proper 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 205 

humidity, and enough sleep are essentials to efficiency of both 
mind and body. 

Right physical conditions not only permit more and better 
work, but enable you to do it with comfort and enjoyment. 

Artificial stimulants to work leave one in an abnormal con- 
dition. 

Normal incentives call forth the best energy, and leave one 
better off for one's efforts. 

Suggestions to be emphasized for all study: 

Know exactly what you are to do. 

Study with a definite purpose. 

Adapt your method to the problem and to your type of 
mind. 

Solve your problem; think it through to the finish. 

What you know, know thoroughly. 

Organize your knowledge. 

Be clear and be accurate in all mental work. 

Be wisely thorough; be selective rather than exhaustive. 

Make the best use of time; divide your time well; learn at 
your own best speed. 

Get the best physical conditions for study. 

Choose the suggestive influences that will help you. Elim- 
inate distractions. 

Do not be disturbed by what you cannot do. Think about 
what you are doing and not about your feelings. 

Forget yourself in your problem. 

BE A MASTER OF SOMETHING. 

The teacher s responsibility. The teacher's responsibility 
includes knowing how to direct study, giving the necessary 
instructions and seeing that they are carried out, that they be- 
come habits of study, and seeing that physical conditions for 
study are what they should be. 

Directing study requires practice. No one can properly 
direct study without knowing just how to do it. There is not 
only the danger of giving insufficient or inadequate help; there 
is also the danger of giving too much help. A safe maxim 
would be: help the student to help himself. 

The best way to see that pupils carry out instructions for 
study is undoubtedly in having stated study periods which are 
carefully supervised. This makes it possible to give instruc- 
tions, to see that they are carried out, and children report that 
they are helped by a schedule which includes supervised study 
hours because it helps them to spend their time to better ad- 



206 



PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 



vantage. Several advantages are apparent; it keeps children 
from the problem of what to do next; of wasting time getting 
started; of giving too much time to favorite subjects, and too 
little to other subjects; and of getting into the habit of putting 
things off till some other time. Many methods have been tried 
and a period devoted, half to recitation and half to study, has 
been very successful. 

The supervision should include the seeing that chairs are of 
the right height for the pupils, that the desk is at the right 
angle; things that are not to be used should be put away so as 
not to be continually disturbing the work and the attention; 
and the like. 

Pupil's study card and schedule. Some such card as that 
suggested by Reavis and modified by Parker will be found to 
be very useful. The following (Fig. 17), is taken from Park- 
er's, Methods of Teaching in High Schools. (74) . 

Obverse side of card. 



Name 


PUPIL'S STUDY PROGRAM. 
Grade 






Hour 


Study 


Recite 


9:00 






9:45 






10:30 






11:10 






1:15 






2:00 






2:45 






3:20 






























■ 







Fig. 17. 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 207 

Reverse of card: 

1. Follow your program regularly. 

2. If possible, study your lesson immediately after the as- 
signment is made. 

3. Take brief notes and afterwards re-study by outline. 

4. Use dictionary and reference books for points not clear- 
ly comprehended. 

5. Concentrate your mind so that outside interests will not 
frequently disturb you. 

6. Do not try to commit exact words until you understand 
their content. 

7. Connect the important facts of the new lesson with facts 
previously learned. 

8. Make comparisons and contrasts when possible. 

9. Carefully review and think over the previous lesson be- 
fore beginning the next. 

10. The extra time spent on preparation pays the greatest 
intellectual dividends. 

Going into details with the student. The suggestions given 
in this chapter for use with students are of a general nature 
and the teacher of each subject will find the necessity of 
making use of these general principles and of going farther 
with the individual student according to his particular needs 
and according to the particular needs of the special subject. 
(See suggestions for this in experiment given in chapter 17). 

The one great problem for each student is to discover the 
particular combination of methods which is best for him. 

The student who knows the laws of mind should also know 
what factors in the working of these laws are most important 
in his particular case. The following suggestions indicate 
some features of the individual problem. 

The teacher, for example, will try to get the pupil to have a 
purpose in his work. But for each student there is the prob- 
lem: What purpose will you have for your work? To learn 
this subject to help you in a certain profession; to study this 
subject or to read this book to answer certain questions; to 
study one subject thoroughly in order to be an authority on 
that subject; to study history in order to understand the great 
institutions of modern life; to study psychology in order to 
know the mind and to understand many of the facts of every 
day experience; to see a play in order to tell a friend about it. 
or, what will be your purpose? 



208 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Organization is invaluable but how will you organize your 
knowledge so that it will best serve your purpose? Will you 
arrange all the facts topically with main heads and subheads, 
or, if you are studying history, will you place the facts in 
chronological order, and make a table with dates at the left 
and the facts for each date at the right? Or, if it be science, 
will you arrange the facts under chapter headings, so to speak, 
and put all facts in their appropriate places under each chap- 
ter head? Will you use large pages and keep them in some 
logical order, or use index cards and file them alphabetically? 

Some students can study for long periods at a time, others 
find shorter periods more beneficial. How long can you 
study at a time and get good results? How long for this sub- 
ject, and how long for that? Again what is the best time of 
day for you to do your studying, and at what time can you do 
your hardest work? 

Rate and method of study. The student must learn his own 
best rate of study. The best speed for one individual is not 
the best speed for others. Most of us probably study too lazily 
or else we leave the task until the last minute and then rush 
through it too fast. The best rate of learning can be determ- 
ined only after many trials. This can generally be done by 
increasing the rate of learning until the student finds that he 
is failing in clearness of thought and accuracy of detail, and 
in the ability to recall what he has studied. What is the best 
rate for you? What is the best rate in this subject and what 
in that? How fast should you go at first and how fast at later 
stages of progress? 

It has long been supposed that the ear minded individual 
should be taught through the ear; and the eye minded child 
through the eye, etc. The truth seems to be that no matter 
how an individual is taught, he transforms what he learns into 
his own kind of memory. A person who is eye minded, may 
learn just as well by hearing, but he is likely to transform the 
sounds of the words into visual images and to remember them 
in that way. Most people, have not only one kind of predom- 
inant imagery with which they do most of their remember- 
ing; they are of mixed memory, so to speak, and use several 
types of images. There are exceptions to this, and there are 
exceptions to the fact that people can learn about as easily 
through one sense as through another. Younger people prob- 
ably learn better through the ear and older through the eye. 
But this is not always so and is not necessarily so. 



THE DIRECTING OF LEARNING AND STUDY 209 

Exceptions to the general rules need to be understood by 
teachers. A child is reported by Meumann, for example, who 
could not remember the outline of Greece until he had traced 
it. Here neither seeing nor hearing sufficed, but learning 
through the tactual and muscular senses was necessary. In- 
dividuals can be found who do not remember well until they 
have articulated the matter to be learned. The first fact 
stands for most people, namely, that it does not matter so 
much through what sense a thing is learned, the learner trans- 
forms what he learns into his kind of imagery or memory. 
The second fact also stands, namely, that for some people a 
certain kind of learning is necessary in order that they may 
remember. One kind of memory may be much better than 
any other kind. The problem for the student remains: In 
what way can you study and get the best result? Should you 
see or hear or write out what you would remember or will any 
of those ways suffice in your case? Would it help to repeat 
audibly or semi-audibly? etc. 

The size of units of study is to be determined. How great 
an amount should you take to go through at one time? How 
many pages of poetry, or prose, or of history? 

Much failure in courses is because of insufficient prepara- 
tion for the work. The student may not know enough to un- 
derstand the advanced work; he may lack concrete facts on 
which to reason; preliminary work may be only partly mas- 
tered so that attention cannot be given wholly to the work in 
hand. In each case the individual must determine what is 
lacking and how to make up for his deficiency. 

The final result. As a final problem the student should 
learn to make the results of his study work out into expression 
either of words or of deeds. One may have thoughts and be 
unable to express them; another may have great powers of 
expression but little or nothing to express. Work definitely 
for the two-fold resultant: the thought and its expression. 
This is the combination which is valuable in the work of the 
world. After graduation from school or college assume that 
you do not know very much and that you are not very skilled 
in expressing what you do know, and you will be well within 
the facts. You will also have the only safe attitude with which 
to begin a new line of work. Try h?rd in your new work to 
obey instructions, to follow them exactly, to do the kind of 
work demanded of you and you may find that you can soon 



210 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

do nearly as well as the man who has not had your education. 
Continue to work and to study and to solve your problems and 
you will find some day that your education will surely carry 
you beyond that which is possible for the man who is other- 
wise your equal but who has not had your education. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. What facts in your own experience point to the need for 
supervised study? 

2. What is the greatest difficulty that is found when teach- 
ers are asked to teach children how to study? 

3. Why is the giving of directions to pupils as to how to 
study only the first step in supervising study? 

4. What could you say in your first talk to students on the 
subject of study? What would you try to accomplish in the 
first talk? 

5. How would you plan later talks for your students? 

6. What special preparation do you need for instructing 
students in methods of study? • 

7. What do you consider as the most important things for 
the student to understand thoroughly about study? 

8. Discuss the value of a study card for the student? 

9. How would you see that the desirable methods of study 
actually become habits of study? 

10. How would you make allowance for individual differ- 
ences among students? 

11. Expand on the statements in the book as to the final 
result of study. 

REFERENCES. 

Judd, C. H. Psychology of High School Subjects. Ginn and Co. 
1915. Ch. 18. 

McMurry, F. M. How to Study and Teaching How to Study. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin Co. 1909. 

Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn and Co. 
1915. Ch. 16. 

Swain, G. F. How to Study. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N. Y. 
1917. 

Whipple, G. M. How to Study Effectively. School and Home Edu- 
cation, Jan. 1916 and following numbers. Issued in book form by 
Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111. 1916. 




Chapter 17. 
SUPERVISED STUDY AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM. 

Methods outlined. Various arrangements have been made 
in schools for the purpose of fitting in supervised study. This 
is not adding a new study. If so, there would be good reason 
to doubt the advisability of making the attempt. The change 
consists in introducing better methods of doing work that is 
already demanded. Its justification lies in the better results 
that have already been obtained. 

We may outline the methods that have been tried and those 
that may be worthy of trial under the varying conditions of 
different schools. In a general way we may say that the 
methods involve: 

A. 1. The use of a regular teacher. 
2. The use of a special teacher. 

B. 1. Separate hours for instructions in study during 

school session. 

2. Special times appointed by the principal . 

3. The division of each regular school period. 

4. The double period. 

5. Conferences, during or after school, for individuals 
or groups of children. 

6. Extra time during the regular session, or in summer. 

7. The use of the general study hall. 

The use of the regular teacher. Where supervised study 
has been tried, the regular teacher has commonly been called 
upon to do the supervising. If he supervises his own pupils 
in his own subjects there is the advantage that he knows ex- 
actly what is needed and understands better than a special 
teacher the particular difficulties and individual differences 
of his particular pupils. This requires no addition to the 
teaching staff, but it does require that the teachers learn how 
to direct study. It would likely be found that emphasis on 
supervised study would be only an extension and methodical 
administration of that which is npw done by most teachers in 
a poor and haphazard, and therefore, in a much less effective 
way. 

211 



212 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

The use of a special teacher. In many schools a special 
teacher who shall give his whole time to directing study has 
been found to be most beneficial. Such a teacher can be a 
specialist in the subject. Being a specialist, he can put more 
study, interest, and enthusiasm, into this work as the one 
great purpose of his teaching. This advantage does not hold 
where the special teacher is a student of a Normal School 
doing this work to finish the requirements for a diploma. If 
the special teacher is obliged to coach in all subjects, it is 
obvious that he cannot be as well acquainted with each sub- 
ject as the regular teachers. Neither is he as well acquainted 
with the individual difficulties of each pupil. 

Both methods valuable. Both methods have proved valu- 
able and it is perhaps too early to say which is the better. 
What is better for one school may not be better for another 
school. As in other matters of administration, the problem 
will need to be worked out for each school. This is true also 
in regard to the fitting of supervised study into the curriculum. 

Separate times for instruction in study during the school 
session. One solution for the problem of how to find time for 
supervised study is to take the time in place of other work, 
either, by taking a whole period for this in place of other 
work, or, by shortening several periods, and using the time 
thus gained. 

If the former method is used, different hours may be used 
on succeeding days. On the first day, the first period can be 
given to supervised study throughout the school; on the second 
day, the second period can be used, and so on, until each class 
has been instructed in methods of studying each subject. This 
can then be repeated. 

The latter method is probably better for things that are not 
to be so regular as supervised study should be. This virtually 
means changing the schedule and rather than make a change 
like this permanent, some other more satisfactory plan should 
be found. 

Special times appointed by the principal. Another method 
is that of having special periods set aside by the principal, 
this can be done so as to sandwich in the supervised study 
where there seems to be a good chance, or as a special feature. 
But this, again, does not give the uniformity needed, and is 
likely to be only a very inadequate way of solving the prob- 
lem. This is better than nothing and where doubt exists as to 
the value of supervised study, a few trials well managed might 



SUPERVISED STUDY 213 

prove its worth and show the value of regular, methodical, 
supervision. 

The division of every period, part for supervised study. A 
method which has found favor with many teachers is the 
division of each period, so that part is given to the work as 
ordinarily carried on, and part given to teaching the pupils 
how to study the next lesson. A division of half and half has 
been successful in some schools. The first part of the time is 
given to recitation and discussion, the second half of the hour 
is used for giving directions to students as to how they are to 
go to work. The pupils are made definitely conscious of the 
particular problems they have to solve. Here each teacher 
has the opportunity to apply all the knowledge he has regard- 
ing the application of principles of study to his particular 
lesson. Making the assignment is a very definite part of this 
second half of the period. It is carefully prepared and made 
part of the teaching of the next lesson. Teaching the children 
how to work out this assignment follows. A little home study 
to finish lesson and for daily review is very desirable. 

There is much to be said for this method. It has proved so 
successful in some schools, that more than half of the period 
is given to teaching how to study. The chief preparation of 
the teacher for this kind of lesson is preparation in the meth- 
ods of study, and, needless to say, this work is very different 
from the giving of lessons in the old way. Contrary to expec- 
tation, it is found that there is plenty for the teacher to do and 
say in teaching pupils how to study the next lesson. The 
teacher finds that this is the most valuable part of the period. 
This method can he started without a single change in the cur- 
riculum. 

The double period. Some schools have what is called the 
double period. For example, forty minutes are given to the 
recitation as now commonly carried on; the next forty min- 
utes are given to directing the study of the new lesson. This 
has proved successful in not a few schools. One outcome is 
that there is more school study and less home study. The 
school study appears to be superior to the home study, and 
the same amount of time spent in directed study at school 
gives far better results than the home work. 

Study conferences. Individuals or groups of pupils, who 
need special help, may by special appointment, meet with the 
regular teacher at a time when he has a vacant period. Or, if 
there is a special teacher, these pupils may be assigned to cer- 



214 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

tain hours when they shall meet the special teacher and re- 
ceive the needed help. Such conferences may be used for 
both backward pupils who need help to keep up with their 
classes, or for bright pupils, who with special help may skip 
a grade. This latter plan is a good way of solving the problem 
of dealing with supernormal children in schools where there 
is no adequate provision for them. It is possible by means of 
such conferences to work out many problems arising from the 
individual differences of pupils in large classes. Pupils at the 
lower end of the class may be helped not only to keep up with 
their class but encouraged to stay in school and do their best. 
Particular defects and difficulties may be discovered, which 
might not otherwise become known. A little help at the right 
time may save the individual pupil much loss of time. The 
most economical way to deal with repeaters is to prevent their 
ever becoming such. 

Extra study periods. For cases in which the regular school 
periods do not seem adequate, extra time has been used with 
immensely valuable results. The simplest way is the taking 
of half an hour or so after the regular school session. Some 
schools have made use of Saturday morning for coaching 
backward pupils. A greater extension of this principle is 
found in special summer sessions for coaching not only back- 
ward pupils, but also supernormals. The backward pupils 
are helped so they can go on with their classes; the supernor- 
mals so that they can skip a grade. 

Directing study in the general study hall. If there is a gen- 
eral assembly hall in which students not in attendance at a 
class or laboratory meet to do their studying, there is an op- 
portunity to help them in their methods of study. The teach- 
er in charge of such a room is likely to have too many other 
duties at this time. There are difficulties of many kinds aris- 
ing in many subjects and the problem of discipline may inter- 
fere. At best, the use of this time for supervising study is but 
a makeshift and not systematic enough to give the best re- 
sults. The teacher, unless he is a special coach, is not likely 
to be prepared to help pupils with all the difficulties that arise 
in the different subjects. In this limited time the teacher can 
give adequate help to only a few of all who are in need of it. 

Essential factors in the administration of study supervision. 
Among the most essential factors in the planning of supervised 
study in the school are the following: The supervised study 
should have a regular place in the curriculum. It should not 



SUPERVISED STUDY 215 

be left to chance or occasional use, but requires just as much 
place as any other work of the school. Each child should re- 
ceive his share of help; the plan should not merely permit, 
but should require a certain amount of supervision for each 
child in each subject. This will help to eliminate the pupil's 
practice of having trouble for the purpose of getting special 
attention. The teacher, if not a special coach, should super- 
vise his own subject, and should know the particular difficul- 
ties of the children and the inherent obstacles in the lessons. 
Attention should be given to the right methods, not to that 
which should not be done, except where necessary to break 
up an old bad habit. Correct methods should be made fully 
conscious to the pupil at first and then made completely form- 
ed habits. Informal, personal, encouraging help gives the 
best results. Marks should be given for methods of study as 
well as for the results of study. And, it should be remember- 
ed, just because time has been given to teach the pupil how to 
study, it is not to be expected that he will know how, or even 
know that he has been instructed in the matter. He must be 
instructed, and made explicitly conscious of method, and then 
tested in his knowledge of how to study. 

An Experiment in Supervised Study in the Grade Schools 
and in the Normal Practice School, Athens, Ga. The re- 
mainder of this chapter gives an outline of an experiment 
(25) which is being made in the grade schools of Athens and 
in the Normal Practice School. Six typewritten pages of di- 
rections were made out and besides having conferences with 
teachers the writer has gone into the school room to try out 
some of them himself. The directions for the various sub- 
jects are given for the purpose of getting a start in the super- 
vision of each subject in the school. The author offers them 
for the purpose of criticism and trial by the teachers who use 
them. He desires to know in what way they are useful and 
in what ways they should be modified to be made more valu- 
able for school room work. 

The statement of this experiment necessitates repetition of 
a small part of chapter 16. Many of the statements are how- 
ever, quite differently worded and the bringing together of a 
few selected directions used in talking to pupils is not without 
its advantages. A usable selection for young students is thus 
indicated and it is a concrete illustration of how selections 
may be made from earlier chapters for talks to students. The 
selection given below might well indicate the type of talk de- 



216 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

sirable for beginners. For older students other selections 
should be made and these fundamental principles reviewed. 

The directions are as follows: 

General suggestions for study. What you study is very im- 
portant. How you study is more important. The way you 
study should always be the best way. This becomes habit and 
is a very part of you. If you get good habits of study you can 
learn very much more quickly. You will also be better able 
to study by yourself when there is no teacher present and after 
you leave school. 

You have heard that it is important to know how to use the 
hands. It is more important to know how to use the mind. 

You will be helped by these better methods only if you use 
them. To hear about them will do you no good unless you 
use them. 

Getting started. 1. Always learn correctly the first time, 
never learn anything incorrectly. What is once learned can- 
not ever be entirely unlearned. Fully formed habits are the 
ones that make you expert. That is the reason the football 
squad has to practise so long and so hard. 

2. Get a good start and start promptly. Do not waste time 
beginning. Probably half a minute is more than enough time 
to take to get started. 

3. Always have ready the things you need with which to 
study. 

4. Put everything else away. 

5. Know exactly what you are to do, how to do it, and when 
to stop. 

Study and thinking. 6. To be clear and to be accurate 
are the most important things in all study and in solving the 
problems of life. 

7. Know exactly the aim of every lesson. Adapt your 
method to that aim. Do exactly what you set out to do or 
know why you do something else and that it is right to change. 

8. Understand what the lesson calls for. Know exactly 
what is given and what you have to get. 

9. Imitate, but imitate only the best. Then think out a 
better way. 

10. Reason out things for yourself and get into the habit 
of reasoning for yourself. 

11. You are not to learn everything. You should be able 
to pick out the most important things and learn these thor- 
oughly. 



SUPERVISED STUDY 217 

12. After selecting the most important things you should 
organize them in your mind or on paper. 

13. It is very helpful to outline things on paper. The out- 
line should be by topics and sub-topics. 

14. All study should be by topics and sub-topics. That is 
the way you use your knowledge later. 

15. Always give good attention to the things you want to 
understand and to remember. 

16. Find a concrete example to help you understand and 
remember. 

Making acquisition permanent. 17. To master anything 
you need to practise it. Drill, doing things again and again, 
using knowledge, is all important. 

18. Try to find an application for everything you learn. 

19. Frequent reviews will give you the best results for the 
time you spend. 

20. Learn to help yourself just as much as possible. And 
do not get the idea you are studying just because the teacher 
gives you a lesson. You are studying to improve yourself and 
to get ahead. 

21. To remember better get better methods of learning. 

22. Have the intention to remember, the will to remember. 

23. Learn at your own best rate. Go slower at first, then 
faster. 

24. Twenty to thirty minutes are long enough to study new 
things at one time. 

25. Study the same lesson at different times. Study a les- 
son as soon as possible after it is assigned; then review it be- 
fore the next recitation. 

26. Memorize by wholes not by parts. This whole method 
may not help you at first and you may think for a long time 
that the part method is better. You need to get used to the 
whole method. 

27. If certain parts are very hard, begin with the whole 
method; then study the hardest parts by themselves; and 
finish with the whole method. 

Interest, attitude and physical conditions. 28. Get inter- 
ested. Find something pleasant in your lesson; compete with 
your past record; find a use you can make of what you are 
learning; make it a game and play the game. 

29. Be glad to do hard and unpleasant study so as to be- 
come indifferent to unpleasant tasks. Don't let the difficulty 
throw you down. 



218 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

30. Learn things as though you were going to tell them to 
someone, and make them see them. 

... 31. Have a purpose, a determination; care enough. If you 
care enough about a thing you are much more likely to suc- 
ceed. 

32. One of the greatest secrets of study is to be able to give 
good attention whenever you want to no matter what is going 
on around you. If you cannot do this learn to study at cer- 
tain times and in a certain place. You will thus get time and 
place habits and these will make it easier to study, although 
though it may be harder to study at any other times and 
places. It is better to make yourself study in any place and 
with any kind of distraction if you can. 

33. Keep well. Have plenty of good food and enough 
sleep. Eat sufficient but not too much. Have fresh air, right 
temperature (65 degrees to 68 degrees F.), right humidity 
(about 50 per cent.), and good light. Improve your study by 
improving your health. Remove any physical defects. 

34. Do not try to do too much. Don't be disturbed by what 
you cannot do. Think about what you are doing and forget 
your feelings. 

35. BE A MASTER OF SOMETHING. 

How to study reading. (Reading to get meaning is here 
distinguished from oral reading, the latter is important, the 
former is fundamental to all study) . 

1. You must be able to read accurately; this is necessary 
for studying other subjects. 

2. Get the main subject or title. 

3. Look for the leading thoughts. 

4. Pick out the leading thoughts, then sub-topics, illus- 
trations, reasons, etc. 

5. Outline these in your mind or on paper. 

6. Be sure to get the thought, the meaning, and be able to 
state it in your own words. 

7. Write on paper all new words and look them up in your 
dictionary. 

8. Also try to reason out meanings of new words from 1) 
their form, 2) their context. 

How to study history. 1. Get the main subject. 

2. Read through quickly to get a general idea of assign- 
ment. 

3. Pick out the main topics, and the sub-topics. 

4. Learn how to do this. 



SUPERVISED STUDY 219 

5. Be sure that you understand them. 

6. Thoroughly learn the facts you have selected. 

7. Organize these facts in your mind. 

8. Outline them on paper if you cannot master them with- 
out doing so. 

9. Find examples in other history, especially, in modern 
history, to illustrate what you learn. 

10. Make a list of things you do not understand and look 
them up or ask the teacher about them. 

11. Helps: make charts, make maps, picture people and 
events to yourself, or make a little play to illustrate them. 

How to study science. 1. Observe experiments carefully, 
or read carefully. 

2. Note facts, — do not be led away from the facts by look- 
ing merely at the apparatus. 

3. See what the facts mean. 

4. Do they teach any general law or principle? Try to 
find one. 

5. Try to see applications of these facts, — of these laws. 
Try to make applications in, 1) the laboratory, 2) in the 
schoolroom, 3) at home, 4) to explain everyday things. 

6. Outline the facts, laws and applications in your note- 
book. 

7. Do these facts and laws make any difference in the way 
people do things or should they make a difference? How? 

8. Distinguish between facts and laws, and the explanation 
of the facts and laws. 

How to study mathematics. 1. Recall what you know that 
will help you. 

2. Be sure you understand the signs, symbols, etc. 

3. Understand your problem. This requires the ability to 
read. 

4. Find out what principle should be used. Know why. 

5. Know how to apply the principle. 

6. Know each step in doing the problem and how to do it. 

7. Know how to verify and be sure to verify. Know how 
to verify when the answer is not given in the book. 

8. Drill for quickness and accuracy; do examples for this. 

9. Review principles whenever necessary. 

10. How do you know when you are right? When you 
have proved anything? 

11. If you use model examples be sure that you understand 
how and when to use them. 



220 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

English composition. 1. Have something you want very 
much to say. 

2. Think it through clearly. 

3. Get your thoughts arranged on paper in outline. 

4. Think of your reader. 

5. Try to make him see the thing as clearly as you do. 

6. Do not hesitate; plunge in and try. 

7. Notice the good language of speakers and writers. 

8. Memorize good language of others; imitate only good 
language. 

9. Try to improve your language; this helps you to think 
better. 

10. Remember that good writing is one of the greatest and 
hardest accomplishments of the human mind. It is hard for 
others as well as you. 

Manual Training and Domestic Science. 1. Have a clear 
idea of the thing to be done or to be made. 

2. Understand the principles involved. 

3. Do the thing correctly and practise doing it correctly. 

4. Imitate from demonstration of the teacher; imitate only 
good models. 

5. Try to do well rather than fast. 

6. Criticize your own work. 

Results. It is too soon to give any quantitative statement 
of results. It is possible however to state that many pupils 
have been helped. Some who were backward are now doing 
much better work. Some who were little interested have 
found a new interest in their study. Greater self-reliance 
has appeared in several cases. The writer wishes to empha- 
size again that these directions are only for making a begin- 
ning, that they must be worked over by the teachers them- 
selves in the school room, but that so far they have improved 
the work of many pupils very appreciably. The author will 
consider it a favor if any one who may use them will send him 
any suggestions, criticisms, or statements of results. Every 
teacher must find his own way of approach in using them. 
The writer's experience in the school room indicates that it is 
most advisable to take a certain lesson, and while explaining 
how to study it, make the pupils go through the successive 
steps in a very thorough fashion. A few steps may be used 
for the first lesson, more steps another day, and so forth, until 
all the steps are completed. It will take longer at first to fol- 



SUPERVISED STUDY 221 

low the methods indicated above. But the pupils will learn 
more, and later will work rapidly with these methods. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Think of some particular school system with which you 
are familiar. What problems would arise in the attempt to 
put supervised study into the curriculum? 

2. Pick out what you think are the most useful of the 
methods outlined in this chapter for putting supervised study 
into the curriculum and give your reasons. 

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of, 1) the 
special director of study, 2) the direction of study by the regu- 
lar teacher. 

4. What do you consider the essential factors that should 
be considered in any system of supervised study in a school? 
Name any that you can that are not mentioned in the text. 

5. Try to outline directions for study for some subject for 
which the outline is not given in the report of the experiment 
mentioned in the text. 

6. Could you suggest a plan for directing study so that 
pupils beginning in the fourth or fifth grade could be taught 
increasingly more in each succeeding grade on up through the 
high school? What would you do in each grade? With what 
subject or subjects would you begin? Could you arrange for 
increasingly more difficult problems for each grade? 

REFERENCES. 

Hall-Quest, A. L. Supervised Study. Macmillan. 1916. Chs. 
5 and 6. 

McMurry, F. M. How to Studij and Teaching How to Study. Hough- 
ton, Mfflin Co. 1909. 

Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn and Co. 
1915. Ch. 16. 

Swain, G. F. How to Study. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N. Y. 
1917. 

Whipple, G. M. How to Study Effectively. School and Home Edu- 
cation, Jan. 1916 and following numbers. Also issued in book form: 
Public-School Pub. Co., Bloomington, 111. 1916. 



Chapter 18. 
DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD. 

The need of definiteness. "It is true," writes Professor 
Snedden, "that the largest single problem to be solved on be- 
half of the high school of today is that of a clearer definition 
of the valid aims of secondary education." (90). 

"The most impressive fact," writes Professor Judd, "which 
stands out in examining the results of a series of tests is the 
need in schools of more definite standards of work. Teach- 
ers are working in ignorance of what they ought to accomp- 
lish." (52) It is clear from a psychological point of view 
that if teachers are going to secure definite results, they must 
know what results they are to obtain. One may do traditional 
things and cover the traditional number of pages of a text 
book. But it is another matter to know definitely just what is 
to be accomplished and to be able to accomplish it. The psy- 
chologist hopes to be able to help the teacher obtain desired 
results by helping to improve method. 

We have already shown that the habit theory is true to the 
multitude of facts that appear in connection with the educa- 
tive process in the individual. It has, as has also been said, 
the advantage of definiteness. Warning must again be given 
against attempting to interpret anything so broad as education 
under too narrow a theory. But it must also be emphasized 
that this is not a narrow theory. For habit as we have de- 
fined it includes habitudes, interests, attitudes, all, indeed, 
that may be considered more or less permanent tendencies as 
the result of learning. It is at least worthy of consideration 
that we take habit in this sense as the great fundamental basis 
of educational practice and for the accomplishment of the 
great ends of education which may then be formulated in 
more general terms such as social efficiency and character. 
Again let us remember that habits are not so unmodifiable and 
that plasticity is not so easily lost as has been commonly 
thought. And further that progress in learning of any kind 
shows just this making and modification of habit. It is fitting 
that we look at this most important matter of definiteness a 

222 



DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD 223 

little closer and consider a few of the problems of the school 
in this connection. 

Social values. The vagueness of aim and the varieties of 
aim are not denied. In fact they are admitted and emphasiz- 
ed from all sides. The psychologist can only add to the de- 
mand for greater cooperation for deciding what the legitimate 
aims should be. These, no doubt, must be decided in terms of 
social value. The examination of values of the various sub- 
jects to which the curriculum is being subjected today is inevi- 
table and of great promise. No one more than the psychol- 
ogist realizes the need for definiteness of aim. For it is only 
as he knows what is to be accomplished that he can render 
the service of working out the most efficient methods for ob- 
taining those results. 

The binding force of tradition. Students of education have 
been joined by the disappointed and questioning parents in 
considering the problem as to why certain subjects are taught 
in the schools. The answer has been in many respects that 
things are not of the value that had been supposed. And the 
reorganization of text books shows the elimination of many 
parts of subjects hitherto supposed to be necessary. Whole- 
subjects have been dropped, for example, Greek, and Latin 
is perhaps the storm center of discussion at the present time. 
Latin and English afford typical illustration of certain facts 
and principles. 

The case of Latin. It is interesting to trace the shifting de- 
fense of Latin in the schools. Latin has been considered 
essential to a liberal education. When Latin was introduced 
it was the road to a liberal education. It was necessary for 
one to know Latin in order to obtain a liberal education, if 
not any kind of an education, because the things that were to 
be learned were written only in Latin. This reason for learn- 
ing Latin no longer exists, nor has it existed for a good many 
years. The case is clear. The conditions which demanded 
the study of Latin ceased to exist. The binding force of tra- 
dition has continued. 

Latin and the professions. The foundations of the old argu- 
ment having been carried away, the defense shifted. Latin 
was useful in the professions of law, theology, philology, his- 
tory, etc. Any language may be useful to the historian or the 
philologist, but we are not all sufficiently interested in either 
of these subjects to make Latin necessary and few would ever 
make it useful to any appreciable extent. As for law, we have 



224 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

been told many times that the Latin used in law is not the 
classical Latin and that the classical student is obliged to 
learn the law Latin when he comes to it. As a jurist puts it, 
the Latin used in law is so different that even persons of good 
classical education cannot understand it. The theologian is 
quite likely to study Greek, or Greek and Hebrew, in prefer- 
ence to Latin. 

Roman literature. Again the defense shifted. One should 
study Latin in order to gain a knowledge of the rich treasures, 
of Roman literature. In this also one may find recreation 
and pleasure after the day's toil. But it has been discovered 
that it takes many years of study of Latin to have the treasures- 
of Roman literature opened up by that means. One must 
spend seven to ten years in the study in order to have any 
very great facility with the language. Those who maintain 
that this is too great a price to pay, especially inasmuch as 
this material can be had for the most part in English, have 
not been satisfactorily answered. Much may be lost in trans- 
lations, and by the same token, much more is likely to be lost 
by the poor translations of most students. It is yet to be 
proved that a student can not get more by using a good trans- 
lation than by making his own translations, to say nothing of 
the vast amount of difference in the expenditure of time. The 
argument for Latin as a recreation is negligible. 

Latin for mental training. But another defense is added. 
Study Latin to train the mind. But psychologists are thor- 
oughly persuaded that there is no such general transfer of 
training as was earlier thought and there is probably a small 
amount of improvement in one subject because of improve- 
ment in another; just what general improvement there is 
must be shown, but not by comparing classical students who 
have studied Latin four to seven or more years with scientific 
students who have studied one science one or two years. And 
also not by comparing the best taught subject in the curricu- 
lum, as Latin is known to be, with results of poorer teaching 
in other subjects. 

But, at least, study Latin to improve your English. This 
sounds plausible as we know that English comes largely from 
the Latin. But competent observers tell us that in many cases, 
at least, it is very questionable whether or not the study of 
Latin contributes results of very much value to English. In- 
deed we are told that the majority of Latin students may be 



DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD 225 

found to have their English actually impaired by the use of 
poor English in the making of translations. 

Our conclusion is that the value of Latin under the present 
day conditions needs to be most seriously studied before we 
content ourselves with going on spending several millions of 
dollars a year in the teaching of Latin and requiring several 
years of our children's time in studying the subject. In con- 
sidering the psychological fact that most improvement is in 
the thing practised, it is very pertinent to ask after all, is not 
the study and practice of English the best way to improve in 
English? Perhaps we shall think some day that it was curious 
we should ever have to ask that question. 

The question of English. The study of English as a tool, 
and it has other objects, is of fundamental importance. No 
other subject is allowed so much time in the school and no 
other subject, we are told, shows such poor returns for the 
time and energy spent. What help can the psychologist give 
in connection with this problem? 

One fact stands out with surprising clearness. That is that 
whereas the student may have practice with good English so 
far as his work for the English department goes, he is likely 
to practise poor English in his work for other departments. 
There is a very interesting and suggestive study of the transfer 
of spelling from English to Sociology themes that is pertinent. 
Professor A. R. Mead reports the following experiment. 

With the help of four graduate students he collected thirty 
themes each from as many students who had written both in 
English and in Sociology. Each man's theme in English was 
compared with his theme in Sociology as regards the accuracy 
of spelling. The writer tells us : 

"The problem accurately stated was, 'To what extent do 
students use the accurate spelling vocabulary of their themes 
in English in themes in sociology?' " The results of the com- 
parison of papers as made by the four graduate students are 
stated as follows: "There were then, approximately 160 per 
cent, more misspelled words in the sociology themes than in 
the English themes. In other words, there was a very general 
tendency to lower the standard of efficiency in spelling used 
in the sociology themes. In matters of punctuation and cap- 
italization a beginning of a study was made. Here, too, a 
similar tendency was observed. 

"The writer believes that this minor study shows a very 
prevalent tendency in the effectiveness of the teaching of Eng- 



226 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

lish in high schools and colleges, although the investigation 
made concerned college students only. As he interprets the 
situation, it represents a failure to secure habits which trans- 
fer, or ideals which are consciously generalized. As such, it 
suggests the following: 1) teachers of English should strive to 
secure such transfer; 2) there should be a very much greater 
cooperation in the teaching of English. Had the instructor 
in sociology placed emphasis upon correct spelling, why 
should the students not have had a stronger tendency to spell 
correctly? 3) if such conditions exist as to spelling, the very 
content of one phase of the English language, what must be 
the conditions regarding the transfer of the more intangible 
elements of the mother tongue. It is probably easier to secure 
transfer of content than of some other elements. Hence, it is 
probable that many of the values of English are being realized 
only in a very minor degree." (60) . 

To state it differently, the student practises poor English 
more than he practises good English and has in his nervous 
system the results of his practice. It may seem a little hard 
on the school and college to say that they are fostering, nay 
more, that they are practically teaching poor English. Where 
other departments do not cooperate with the English teachers 
in the demand for good English the influence of that school or 
college is predominantly for poor English. This is the bare 
fact. And the English department alone with twice the time 
at its disposal than it now has could hardly be expected to 
counteract the tendencies that are allied against it. 

A lesson from the French schools. The point, — that people 
learn to do as they practise, — is taken seriously in the French 
schools and we may well take a lesson from them in this re- 
spect. A quotation from the valuable study of Professor R. 
W. Brown will serve to emphasize further what I have been 
maintaining. Professor Brown tells us that "The value of the 
training the French boy receives in his courses in composition 
is increased materially by the character of the writing he is 
required to do in other subjects. It would be exaggeration, 
assuredly, to say that his writing in these other subjects is al- 
ways done just as carefully as that which he submits to his 
teacher of composition; and it would be just as great an over- 
statement to say that every teacher of mathematics, botany, 
and history is as much interested in the character of his pupils' 
writing as he is in the subject he teaches. Nevertheless, the 
quality of this writing which is done as a part of the work in 



DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD 227 

other classes receives a degree of attention from both pupil 
and teacher that in America may be found only in unusual 
instances. 

"Teachers in France would protest against the assertion that 
they had attained an ideal condition in this respect; many of 
them feel, as we feel in America, that other departments too 
often neglect the quality of pupils' language. Yet when one 
compares the practices of the two countries, one cannot re- 
frain from felicitating the teacher of the mother tongue in 
France upon the more conscientious, more intelligent support 
he receives from his colleagues in other fields of study. The 
result is not difficult to see. When the boy is obliged to write 
in his other courses, he sooner or later reaches the conclusion 
that all writing is important. He therefore not only gains 
from the thoughtful practice which he carries on in history, 
civics, and physics or botany, but he derives new profit from 
his instruction in composition. His teacher of the mother 
tongue ceases to be a person who is paid to talk about some- 
thing that is unimportant except to himself, and becomes a 
person of consequence who can help one in doing what every- 
body seems to think is worth doing well. 

.... "I was especially impressed by the neatness and ac- 
curacy with which the students in the normal school classes 
did all of their writing. I noticed, moreover, that many of the 
corrections on advanced papers had to do with the organiza- 
tion of the material and with smaller questions of clearness. 
.... In fact, whatever the prevailing faults of expression, 
there seemed to be no assurance for the pupil that the teacher 
would, by passing over them habitually, permit himself to 
undo the work of the teacher of composition and literature. 

"The critical attitude toward all the pupils' written work is 
maintained also toward his speech. This fact was brought to 
my notice in a striking manner the first time I visited a class 

in science If I had encountered no other cases, I might 

have thought this only the whim of an extremely sensitive 
teacher. But as I visited other classes in a variety of subjects, 
I came to sec that most French teachers have a well developed 
conscience in respect to such matters. They do not drive a 
boy to abandon spontaneous speech, but they do insist that he 
make clear cut, straightforward answers, and that they be 
phrased in reasonably acceptable language." (13"). 

Other facts in relation to English. Some of the difficulty in 
the teaching and learning of English may be seen also when 



228 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

one realizes the variety of problems which arise in dealing 
with the subject. The teacher desires to train the student in 
English composition, but attention to rhetoric is distracted by 
corrections of, and instruction in, grammar. The teacher 
wishes the student to acquire some appreciation of the great 
literary masterpieces, but enjoyment of the literary produc- 
tions must, seemingly, be interrupted by minute and generally 
uninteresting dissection of the English itself. At least two 
vastly different kinds of work appear to be thrown in unpsy- 
chological manner under one head : namely, the study of 
formal English and the study of English literature. These 
different kinds of work require different methods. The psy- 
chologist must advise; have some specific aim for one kind of 
work, and determine and use the particular methods calculat- 
ed to attain this aim; for another kind of work choose and 
make use of the particular methods required for that. 

Conditions of improvement in English. We are now ready 
to indicate some conclusions which may be drawn and to apply 
some of the facts and laws indicated in earlier chapters of 
this book. In the first place, most improvement is specific, 
that is to say, most improvement is in the thing practised. If, 
then, one is to improve in English, why not study English with 
this definite purpose? How much can one improve in English 
by studying another language? Is the price worth paying? 
In the opinion of the present writer these problems are still 
unsolved and need to be studied seriously. In the next place, 
and akin to the first point, it has been discovered in the labor- 
atory that much of the greater improvement in laboratory 
experiments over the improvement outside of the laboratory 
is because of the specific nature of the practice on certain 
definite things. If, then, the student is to improve in English, 
why should not certain specific improvement be chosen and 
that improvement be worked for by the definite methods best 
calculated to bring the desired results? Again, it is known 
that improvement is greater where the learner knows his suc- 
cesses and failures. Is it not, therefore, advisable that the 
specific aim of any work be conscious to the student and that 
he know just what progress he is making towards the specified 
end? 

The theory of specific training versus formal discipline. 
One other conclusion must be at least considered. If most 
improvement is in the thing practiced, if formal discipline or 
transfer of training is relatively small in amount, and, per- 



DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD 229 

haps, limited in nature, should not the curriculum be made up 
on the theory of specific training instead of on the traditional 
theory of formal discipline? Think also of the vast amount 
of time spent, the large expenditures of money and the alto- 
gether questionable value of results, involved in following 
the disciplinary conception. 

A quotation from Professor Snedden. The solution is stat- 
ed in no uncertain terms by Professor Snedden, who says: 
"In teaching modern languages we must wholly discard the 
doctrine of formal discipline. As found in current defenses 
of modern language teaching, it is an unfortunate heritage 
from the factitious pedagogy of Latin. In view of current 
knowledge and uncertainties regarding mental training, the 
one safe assumption is this, 'Teach only those things, and to 
those degrees, and by those methods, that serve a demons- 
trably useful purpose in individual economy — useful, that is, 
as producing, in specific and tangible ways, the culture, the 
refinements, the sensibilities, the stored knowledges, the moral 
habits, the ethical ideals, the vocational powers that the world 
in its best judgment wants and approves. So teach towards 
the realization of these objects that the appropriate exercise 
of mental qualities is always involved, and the results of 
which will persist.' We know little today in favor of any 
theory of pure mental gymnastics. What experience every- 
where teaches us, if we would but see it, is that valuable, and 
probably always the most valuable, mental training invariably 
accompanies the vigorous and systematic pursuit of intellect- 
ual objects in themselves worth while. The cumulative mass- 
ing of the results of this by-product training in numerous and 
varied fields is what gives us, on the whole, the best mental 
training of which we have any knowledge." |91). 

A quotation from Professor Thorndike. "An impartial in- 
ventory of the facts in the ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen 
would find the general training from English composition 
greater than that from formal logic, the training from physics 
and chemistry greater than that from geometry, and the train- 
ing from a year's study of the laws and institutions of the Ro- 
mans greater than that from equal study of their language. 
The gramatical studies which have been considered the chief 
depositories of disciplinary magic would be found in general 
inferior to scientific treatments of human nature as a whole. 
The superiority for discipline of pure over applied science 
would be referred in large measure to the fact that pure 



230 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value 
of geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of 
its conditions, but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest dis- 
ciplinary value of Latin would appear in the case, not of those 
who disliked it and found it hard, but of those to whom it was 
a charming game." (111). 

The practical conclusion. What shall we say in the face of 
the facts known at the present time except that the only wise 
course is to accept the theory of specific instead of the theory 
of general improvement as the basis of our course of study? 
There is nothing then to prevent us from trying to get all the 
disciplinary value possible from what is taught. Shall we 
then teach more science instead of so much Latin? The ob- 
jection rises immediately that science is not so well taught. 
This is undoubtedly true. But the course for educators is 
plain. Not to continue that which happens to be well taught 
now but to see that other subjects are as well taught. 

Above all we must get away from the old incorrect notion 
that the mind is a collection of faculties whose 'general train- 
ing' is possible. We must try to do that which is psychologic- 
ally possible, practical and most valuable, not that which is 
dictated by the prejudice of tradition. The verdict of psy- 
chology is that we need to have a clear statement of aims, so 
that we may adapt definite methods for their accomplishment, 
and that the improvement above everything else, is, for the 
most part, in the thing practised, and as to the influence 'car- 
ried over' into another field, it is little and may be either to 
improve or to impair. 

The aim of the business man, of the scientist, of the manu- 
facturer, is for definite results. The student and the educator 
must learn the lesson. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 

1. Discuss the need for definiteness of aim in the work of 
the teacher. 

2. Carefully define the aims for two or three subjects with 
which you are most familiar. 

3. How must the binding force of tradition be wisely coun- 
ter-balanced by consideration of social values? 

4. What is the difference in the value of Latin as a school 
subject at the present time and at the time when it was put 
into the curriculum? 



DEFINITENESS IN AIM AND IN METHOD 231 

5. Just what attitude should we take towards the teaching 
of a subject like Latin in the schools? Should we argue for 
or against it, or try to find exactly its social value, or try to 
compare it in social value with other subjects? 

6. How may the influence of the schools and colleges ac- 
tually be for poor English rather than for good English? Show 
in terms of the principle of habit formation. 

7. How far can the principle of habit help us to the much 
needed definiteness in educational practice? 

8. Discuss the possibility of making the aims and results 
of education comparable in definiteness with those of other 
kinds of big business. 



SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY. 

1. H. Ebbinghaus. An Outline of Psychology. Tr. by Max Meyer. 
1908. D. C. Heath and Co. 

2. W. James. Psychology. Briefer Course. 1892. Henry Holt 
and Co. 

3. W. James. Talks to Teachers. 1904. Henry Holt and Co. 

4. E. B. Titchener. A Beginner's Psychology. 1916. The Mac- 
millan Co. 

INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING AND STUDY. 

1. S. S. Colvin. The Learning Process. 1911. The Macmillan Co. 

2. G. V. N. Dearborn. How to Learn Easily. 1916. Little, Brown 
and Co. 

3. J. Dewey. How We Think. 1910. D. C. Heath and Co. 

4. L. B. Earhart. Teaching Children to Study. 1909. Houghton, 
Mifflin Co. 

5. A. L. Hall-Quest. Supervised Study. 1916. The Macmillan Co. 

6. O. M. Jones. Teaching Children to Study: The Group System. 
Applied. 1910. 

7. F. M. McMurry. How to Study and Teaching to Study. 1909. 
Houghton, Mifflin Co. 

8. G. F. Swain. How to Study. 1917. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. 

REFERENCES OF A TECHNICAL NATURE. 

1. G. E. Jones. Training in Education. University of Pittsburg 
Bulletin. Vol. 12. No. 17. July 15, 1916. 

2. E. Meumann. The Psychology of Learning. Tr. by J. W. Baird. 
1913. D. Appleton and Co." 

3. E. L. Thorndike. The Psychology of Learning. Vol. 2 of his 
Educational Psychology. 1913. Teachers College, Columbia Univer- 
sity. Or, his Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, 1915. 

4. The Journal of Educational Psychology. Vols. 1 to present. 

BIBLOGRAPHY OF REFERENCES USED IN TEXT. 

1. American Textbook of Physiology. 2nd Ed. W. B. Saunders. 
1901. Vol. 2, 294. 

2. Same, 295. 

3. Angell, J. R. Psychology. H. Holt and Co. 1908. 73-76. 

4. Same. 66. 

5. Same. 159, 196-7, 206-7, 220-1, 224, 287-8, 294, 361, 365, 410, 414, 
419, 430, 433-7. 

6. Same. 436-7. 

7. Same. 338-9. 

8. Bagley, W. C. The Educative Process. The Macmillan Co. 1906. 
Ch. 14. 

9. Same. 212-13. 

10. Book, W. F. The Psychology of Skill: with Special Reference 
to its Acquisition in Typewriting. University of Montana Publications 
in Psychology. Bulletin No. 53. Psychological Series No. 1. 178-9. 

11. Breslich, E. R. Teaching High School Pupils How to Study. 
School Review. 20: 19}2. 505-515. 

232 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 233 

12. Brown, J. C. An Investigation of the Value of Drill Work in the 
Fundamental Operations of Arithmetic. Journal of Educational Psy- 
chology. 3: 1912. 485-492, 561-570. 

13. Brown, R. W. How the French Boij Learns to Write. Harvard 
University Press. 1915. 86 ff. 

13a. Bryan, W. L. and Harter, N. Studies in the Physiology and 
Psychology of the Telegraphic Language. Psychological Review. 
4: '1897, 49. 

14. Carpenter, W. B. Mental Physiology. 1874. 339 ff. 

15. Colvin, S. S. The Learning Process. The Macmillan Co. 1911. 
70. 

16. Same. 45 ff. 

17. Conrad, H. E. and Arps, G. F. An Experimental Study of Econ- 
omical Learning. American Journal of Psychologv. 27: 1916. 
507-529. 

18. Cornell, W. S. Health and Medical Inspection of School Child- 
ren. F. A. Davis. 1912. 

19. Creighton, J. E. An Introductory Logic. The Macmillan Co. 
1910. 203-204. 

20. Dallenbach, K. M. The Effect of Practice Upon Visual Appre- 
hension in School Children. Journal of Educational Psychologv. 
5: 1914. 390. 

21. Dearborn, W. F. Experiments in Learning. Journal of Edu- 
cational Psychology. 1:1910. 384-7. 

22. Drake, D. The Acceleration of Moral Progress. The Science 
Monthly. June, 1916. 605-6. 

23. Dumville, E. and Lewis, E. O. Silent and Concerted Learning. 
Journal of Educational Psychology. 4: 1913. 356-361. 

24. Edwards, A. S. The Distribution of Time in Learning Small 
Amounts of Material. Studies in Psychology: Titchener Commemor- 
ative .Volume. L. N. Wilson, Worcester, Mass. 1917. 209 ff. 

25. Same. Directing Study in the School Room. High School 
Quarterly. April, 1917. 158 'ff. 

26. Ellwood, C. A. Sociology and its Psychological Aspects. D. 
Apoleton and Co. 1912. 78. 

27. Fisher, I. and Fisk, E. L. How to Live. Funk and Wagnalls. 
1916. 171-174. 

28. Foster, W. S. The Effect of Practice Upon Visualizing, etc. 
Journal of Educational Psychology. 2: 1911. 11. 

29. Hall, G. S. A Study of Anger. American Journal of Psychol- 
ogy. July, 1899. 10: 516-591. 

30. Same. A Study of Fears. American Journal of Psychology. 
Jan. 1897. 8: 147-249'. 

31. Hetherington, C. W. The Demonstration Play School. I ni- 
versity of California Publications. Vol. 5, No. 2. 1914. 241-288. 

31a. Hollingworth, H. L. Correlation of Abilities as Affected by 
Practice. Journal of Educational Psychology. 4: 1913. 405-414. 

32. Hosic, J. F. Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools. 
Bull,* 1917. No. 2. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

33. James, W. Principles of Psychology. Henry Holt and Co. 
1902. 1: 105-6. 

34. Same. 1: 110 ff. 

35. Same. 1 : 566. 

36. Same. 1: 589. 

37. Same. 1: 593-4. 

38. Same. 1: 125-6. 

39. Same. 1: 666-7. 

40. James, W. Principles of Psychology. Henry Holt and Co. 
1907. Briefer Course, 150. 



234 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

41. Same. Chapter on Habit. 

42. Same. Talks to Teachers on Psychology. Henry Holt and Co. 
1904. 64-66. 

43. Same. 76. 

44. Same. Chapter on Interest. 

45. Jevons, W. S. The Principles of Science. The Macmillan Co. 
1907. 2. 

46. Same. 228, 9, 736-7. 

47. Same. 745 ff. 

48. Johnson, G. E. An Educational Experiment. Pedagogical 
Seminary. Vol. 6. No. 4. 1899. 513-522. 

49. Jones, G. E. Training in Education. University of Pittsburg 
Bulletin. Vol. 12. No. 17. July 15, 1916. 66-104. 

50. Same. 66. 

51. Judd, C. H. The Psychology of High School Subjects. Ginn 
and Co. 1915. 412-414. 

52. Same. Measuring the Work of the Public School. In the 
Cleveland Survey Series. W. F. Fell Co., Phila. 1916. 57. 

53. Kirkpatrick, E. A. An Experiment in Memorizing versus Inci- 
dental Learning. Journal of Educational Psychology. 5: 1914. 405-6. 

54. Ladd and Woodworth. Elements of Physiological Psychology. 
1900. 

55. Same. 566-72. 

56. Lakenan, M. E. The Whole and Part Methods of Memorizing 
Poetry and Prose. Journal of Educational Psychology. 4: 1913. 
189-98. 

57. Same. 189-98. 

58. Lee, F. S. Recent Progress in our Knowledge of the Physio- 
logical Action of Atmospheric Conditions. Science. New Series. Vol. 
XLIV. Aug. 11, 1916. 183-90. 

59. Mann, F. J. Eye Strain and Retardation in School Life. School 
and Society. Vol. 3, Jan. 1916. 33-36. 

60. Mead, A. R. Transfer of Spelling Vocabulary. Journal of Edu- 
cational Psychology. 8: 1917. 41-44. 

61. Mead, C. D. Results in Silent versus Oral Reading. Journal 
of Educational Psychology. 8: 1917. 367 ff. 

62. McDougall, W. An Introduction to Social Psychology. 9th 
Ed. 1915. 116. 

63. Same. 348. 

64. Merriam, J. L. How well may Pupils be Prepared for High School 
Work without Studying Arithmetic, Grammar, etc., in the Grades? 
Journal of Educational Psychology. 6: 1915. 361-2. Or, Educational 
Review, April, 1909. 

65. Meumann, E. The Psuchology of Learning. Tr. by Baird. D. 
Appleton and Co. 1910. Chapter 1." 

66. Same. Chapter 1. 

67. Same. 267-9. 

68. Same. 233 ff. 

69. Same. 233 ff. 

70. Mulhall, Miss. American Journal of Psychology. 26: 1915. 
219 ff. 

71. Murphy, H. H. Distribution of Practice Periods in Learning. 
Journal of Educational Psychology. 7: 1916. 150 ff. 

72. Offner, M. Mental Fatigue. Tr. by Whipple. Warwick and 
York. 1911. 

73. Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn 
and Co. 1915. Chapter XIII. 

74. Same. 403, 411. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 235 

75: Patrick and Gilbert. Psychological Review. 1896. Vol. 3» 
No. 5. 

76. Pearson, K. Grammar of Science. Part 1. 3rd Ed. 1911. 
138. See also 130-34, 136, 150. 

77. Same. 7 footnote. 

78. Peterson, J. Psychological Review. 23: No. 2 Mch. 1916. 
153 ff. 

79. Phillips, F. M. Value of Daily Drill in Arithmetic. Journal 
of Educational Psychology, 4: 1913. 159-163. 

80. Pyle, W. H. Economical Training. Journal of Educational 
Psychology. 4: 1913. 148-158. 

81. Same. 5: 1914. 247-268. 

82. Pintner, Rudolf and Gilliland, A. R. Oral and Silent Read- 
ing. Journal of Educational Psychology. 7: 1916. 210. 

82a. Pintner, Rudolf and Paterson, Donald, G. A Class Test with 
Deaf Children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 6: 1915, 597. 

83. Radestock, P. Habit and Education. Tr.~ by Caspari. D. C. 
Heath. 1914. 

84. Same. 71-2. 

85. Rapeer, L. W. The Problem of Formal Grammar in Element- 
ary Education. Journal of Educational Psychology. 4: 1913. 125-37. 

86. Reports of the Trustees of Independent" Industrial Schools, 
Worcester, Mass. City Documents: No. 66, 1911; No. 67, 1912; No. 68, 
1913. 

87. Ross, E. A. Social Psychology. The Macmillan Co. Chapter 
on Custom and Imitation. Also, 94, i96, 274. 

88. Seashore, C. E. The Midday Nap. Journal of Educational 
Psychology. 1: 1910. 293. 

89. Smith, A. Moral Sentiments. 6: 3. 

90. Snedden, David. Problems of Secondary Education. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin and Co. 1916. 124. 

91. Same. 163-4. 

92. Spencer, H. The Principles of Psychology. 1893. Vol. 1. 
245. 

92a. Starch, Daniel. Periods of Work in Learning. Journal of 
Educational Psychology. 3: 1912. 209-213. 

93. Sumner; \V. G. " Folkways. 1913, iv. Also, Chapters 1 and 2. 

94. Swift, E. J. Youth and the Race. Charles Scribner's. 1912. 

95. Same. Studies in the Psychology and Physiology of Learning. 
American Journal of Psychology. 14: 1903. 201 ff. 

James. Outlines of Psychology. D. Appleton. 1915, 

120-1. 

124. 

437-38. 

473. 

473. 

483. 

350-52. 

369-70. 

470-85. 

G. The Laws of Imitation. 1903. 7, 14, 137, 138, 366 
footnote, 369. 

107. Taylor, A. E. Elements of Metaphysics. 1903. 238. 

108. Terman, L. M., and Hocking, Adelaide. The Sleep of School 
Children: Its Distribution, etc. Journal of Educational Psychology. 
4: 1913. 138-147; 199-208; 269-282. 

109. Thorndike, E. L. Educational Psychology. Vol. 2. The 



96. 


Sully, 


29. 




97. 


Same. 


98. 


Same. 


99. 


Same. 


100. 


Same. 


101. 


Same. 


102. 


Same. 


103. 


Same. 


104. 


Same. 


105. 


Same. 


106. 


Tarde ; 



236 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND STUDY 

Psychology of Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1913, 

110. Same. 326-7. 

111. Same. 424. 

112. Same. Mental Fatigue. Journal of Educational Psychology. 
2: 1911. 61-68. 

112a. Same. Practice in the Case of Addition. American Journal 
of Psychology. 21:1910. 483-486. 

113. Titchener, E. B. A Beginner's Psychology. The Macmillan 
Co. 1916. 98-99. 

114. Same. 170-71. 

115. Same. 93 ff. 

116. Same. A Primer of Psychology. The Macmillan Co. 1907, 79. 

117. Same. 136-8. 

118. Same. A Textbook of Psychology. The Macmillan Co. 1916. 
274-5. 

119. Same. 497. 

120. Whipple, G. M. How to Study Effectively. School and Home 

121. Woodrow, H. H. Practice and Transference in Normal and 
Feeble-minded Children. Journal of Educational Psychology. 8: 
Education. Jan., Mch., and Apr., 1916. Also same published in book 
form by Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111., 1916-7. 
1917. Part 1: Practice, 85 ff; Part 2: Transference, 151 ff. 



INDEX 



Affective expansion, 151. 

Affective habits, Ch. 14 . 

Agassiz, 78. 

Age and learning, 71. 

Air, i88ff. 

Analogy, 80. 

Angell, J. R., 27. 

Appeal, means of for teacher, I44ff. 
case studies of successful ap- 
peals, M/ff. 

"Apperception/" 67. 

Assignments, length of, I36f, and 
interest, I53f. 

Association Chs. 10 and 11; also 118, 
126, and feelings, 178; cramming, 
I26f; interest, 152. 

Attention, and sustained effort Ch. 
13; kinds of, 159; conditions of, 
159, and distraction, 165; hin- 
drances to, i6sff; case studies, 
i67ff ; direction of, 171 ; and con- 
trol of action, 171. 

Attitude of student, 136. 

Auditory defects, i84f. 

Bagley, W. C, ill. 
Body and mind, 184. 
Breslich, E. R., 196. 
Brown, R. W., 226. 
Bryan and Harter, 99. 

Classification of pupils, 101. 

Coincidences, 79f. 

Colvin, S. S., 36, 104. 

Completeness of response, 94L 

Conversion of arguments, 82. 

Cornell, W. S., 184. 

Corson, H., 79. 

Cramming, I26f. 

Curriculum, 47; and supervised study, 

Ch. 17. 
Curve of learning, 97. 

Dallenbach, K. M., 8/f. 
Definiteness, need for in education, 
Ch. 18. 



Deafness, i85f. 

Defects, 184. 

Diet, balanced, iSjf. 

Distribution of repetitions, 121. 

Division of time, 122; and reviews, 

122. 
Drake, D., i82f. 
Drill, 87, 119; and use, 89. 
Dumville and Lewis, 137. 
Duration, 119. 

Education: permanent results, 12; 
of the individual, 13; and here- 
dity, 14; three principles of, 19; 
means of, 19; the educative 
process, 20; greatest needs of, 
20; basis of, Ch. 2; and Neu- 
rology, Ch. 2; ideals the guid- 
ing influence, 45 ; the controlling 
principle of, 46; definition of, 49; 
moral, 181 ff; need for definite- 
ness in aim and method, Ch. 18. 

Early training, 53. 

Empathy, /~. 

English, 225ff. 

Evening school study, 194. 

Fatigue, 124, 165; feeling of, 166; 

and school hours, I92ff. 
Feelings, 93 ; and habit. Ch. 14 ; and 

action, 177; and associations, 

178. 
Flexibilitv, and variety of habits, 32. 
Food, i86ff. 

Forcing for improvement, 105. 
Forgetting. 140. 
Formal discipline, see Transfer of 

Acquisitions. Ch. 9. 
French schools, a lesson from, 226. 
Frequency of repetition, 119, 129. ' 

General impressions. 70. 
Grammar, 139. 

Habit: as used in this book, 11, 15: 
vs. automatism. 12; fixes and 
releases, i_>: importance of Habit 



237 



238 



INDEX 



Theory, I5ff; comprehensiveness 
of 15ft"., 24., 27, 40; fundamental 
nature of, 22 ; and thinking, 28ff ., 
and originality 29; plasticity and 
fixity, 3off. ; variety of response, 
33 ; initiative, 34 ; types of, 35 ', 
as fundamental in education, Ch. 
3 ; and higher stages of efficiency, 
38; includes permanent desires 
and interests, 39) and character, 
41 ; as basis for measurement, 
42; kinds of, 48; and learning, 
51 ; needs for, 51 ; results of, 
5 if.; principles of habit forma- 
tion, 54ff . ; hindrances to, 58ft". ; 
breaking old habits, 6off. ; and 
feeling, Ch. 14; moral, 181. 

Hardening period, 124. 

Heredity, and education, 14. 

Henmon, V. A. C, 136. 

Home study habits, 196. 

Humidity, 189. 

Ideas and habits, 44. 

Ideals, 18; the guiding influence in 
education, 45; and achievement, 
45 ; as permanent motives, 46. 

Imitation, 68, 78. 

Improvability, Ch. 8; limits of 105. 

Improvement, avoidance of mislead- 
ing tendencies, Ch. 6; progress 
and improvability, Ch. 7; univer- 
sality of, 86; regularity and per- 
sistence, 87; drill, 87; use, 89; 
definite practice, 90; correct prac- 
tice, 91 ; critical attitude, 91 ', of 
methods, 92; feelings, 93; phy- 
sical and physiological condi- 
tions, 94; Ch. 15; completeness 
of response, 94; in subnormals, 
95 ; at different stages of learn- 
ing, 100; and individual differ- 
ences, 101 ; and plateaus, I02ff. 

Individual differences, 101. 

Inherited tendencies and capacities, 
144. 

Institncts, selfish, 146. 

Initiative, 34. 

Interest, I5iff; and effort, 156, and 
Ch. 13; development of, I79ff- 

James, W., 178., 25, 28f, 41, 92. 

Jevons, W. S., 15IT. 

Jones, G. E., 47f- 

Jost's law, 121. 

Judd, C. H., 112, 197, 222. 

Jumping to conclusions, 80. 



Kirkpatrick, E. A., 89. 

Lakenan, M. E., 134, 136. 
Language difficulties, 84; "and habit 

vs. grammar, 139. 
Latin, 223ff. 
Learning, through the senses, 64: 

through reasoning, 69; and age, 

71 ff; trial and error, 68, 78; 

progress and improvability, Ch. 

7; plateaus, etc., Ch. 8; the 

curve of, 97; permanence of, Chs. 

10 and 11; rate of, I27f ; order 

of, 137; silent vs. aloud, 137; 

and supervised study, Chs. 1*5 

and 17. 
Lee, F. S., 189. 
Leuba and Hyde, 130. 

McDougall, W., 16. 

Mead, A. R., and study in English. 
225. 

Mead, C D. 137. 

Memories, Chs. 10 and 11; modern 
conception of, 117; conditions of, 
118; primary and secondary 
laws of, 118; cramming, 126L 

Merrian, J. L., 47. 

Methods, improvement in 92, 118. 

Meumann, E., 119, 128, 133, 135. 

Mind and body, 184L 

Motivation, Chs. 12 and 13. 

Mnemonics, 138L 

Murphy, H. H., 129. 

Nature of material, 132. 
Neurology and education, Ch. 2. 
Note-taking, 68f. 

Offner, M., 192. 
Opportunity classes, 101. 

Parker, S. C, 73, W- 

Pearson, K., 15, 112. 

Perception, 64ft". 

Permanence and kind of learning, 
[41; see Memories; and the 
feelings, Ch. 14. 

Persistence, 87. 

Physical and physiological condi- 
tions, Ch. 15. 

Pintner and Gilliland, 137. 

Pitfalls for the student, Ch. 6. 

Plateaus, Ch. 8; causes of, i02ff. 

Practice, 8/ff. 

Prejudice, 76. 

Primacy, 121. 



INDEX 



239 



Principles, three, of education, 19. 
Progress, see Improvement. 
Purpose, 173. 

Radestock, P., 13. 

Radossawljewitsch, P. R., 140. 

Rate of learning, \2ji. 

Reading, 73. * 

Reasoning, learning by, frpff. 

Recency, 121. 

Regularity, 87, 129. 

Repetition, ii9ff, distribution of re- 
petitions, 121. 

Response, completeness of, 94f. 

Retention, see memory; immediate 
and permanent, 126. 

Reviews, 122. 

Short periods, I24ff. 

Silent learning, 137. 

Size of units, 135. 

Sleep, 193. 

Snedden, David, 222, 229. 

Social values, 223, 

Spencer, H., 16. 

Standards, 18. 

Stimulus and release of energy, 143. 

Study, observational, 64ff. ; by rea- 
soning, 69ff. ; supervised, Chs. 
16 and 17; suggestions for stu- 
dent, to be used by teacher, 
i98fT. ; the teacher's responsibil- 
ity, 205; pupil's study card, 206; 
and the curriculum, 2o6f ; max- 
ims for study of school subjects, 

2l8ff. 

Suggestion, 151. 
Sully, J., 25, 30, 43. 



Supervised study, see Study. 
Swift, E. ]., 100, 146. 

Teacher, the work of, 25, 43, 143; 
means of appeal, case studies, 
14/ff, I59ff; suggestions for stu- 
dents, to be used by the teacher, 
I98ff; responsibility in teaching 
how to study, 205. 

Temperature, 189. 

Thinking, common tendencies, Ch. 6. 

Thorndike, E. L., 98ff., 141 f., 229L 

Titchener, E. B., 25, 37, 52, 177. 

Topical study, 132. 

Tradition, and the curriculum, 223. 

Transfer of acquisitions, Ch. 9; fac- 
tors that complicate the discus- 
sion, 108; extent of, 108; nature 
of, 109; factors in, no; condi- 
tions of, in; Maxims, 113: and 
choice of subjects and teachers, 
U4f. 

Trial and error, 68, /Si. 

Use, vs. drill, 89. 

Visual defects, 185. 
Vividness, 119. 

Warming up period, 123. 

Whipple, G. M., 1891', 193. 

Whole and part method, 133; modi- 
fication of whole method, 135. 

Will, in moral training, 181. 

Woodrow, H. H., 95f. 

Woodworth and Thorndike, in. 

Work, change of, 191, and fatigue, 
191. 



